Editing Ally Sheedy (section)

==Early life==
Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy was born in New York City<ref name="nymag" /> on June 13, 1962, and has a brother and a sister. Her mother, Charlotte (''née'' Baum), is a writer and press agent who was involved in [[Women's suffrage|women's]] and [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]] movements,<ref>{{cite web |last=Leibovich |first=Lori |title=Movie Interview: Heroine Chic |publication-date=June 26, 1998 |website=[[Salon.com|Salon]] |url=https://www.salon.com/1998/06/26/cov_25int/ |access-date=September 29, 2024 |archive-date=September 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240929195219/https://www.salon.com/1998/06/26/cov_25int/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and her father, John J. Sheedy Jr., is a [[Manhattan]] advertising executive.<ref>{{cite news |title=WEDDINGS; Marilyn Webb, John Sheedy Jr. |work=[[The New York Times]] |publication-date=March 21, 1993 |page=13 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/21/style/weddings-marilyn-webb-john-sheedy-jr.html |access-date=September 29, 2024 |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106064936/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/21/style/weddings-marilyn-webb-john-sheedy-jr.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Sheedy's mother is [[Ashkenazi Jewish]], and her father is of [[Irish Catholic]] background.<ref>{{cite news |last=Collins |first=Glenn |title=Celebrating a Place Where for So Many The Good Life Began |work=[[The New York Times]] |publication-date=May 27, 1991 |page=11 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/27/arts/celebrating-a-place-where-for-so-many-the-good-life-began.html |access-date=September 29, 2024 |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106065004/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/27/arts/celebrating-a-place-where-for-so-many-the-good-life-began.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Her maternal grandmother was from [[Odessa, Ukraine]].<ref name= Sohn >{{cite web |last=Sohn |first=Amy |author-link=Amy Sohn |title=Musicians, Mensches, and Muff-Diving: Ally Sheedy |publication-date=2011 |website=Amy Sohn |url=http://www.amysohn.com/articles/new-york-press-2/musicians-mensches-and-muff-diving-ally-sheedy-by-amy-sohn/ |access-date=September 29, 2024 |archive-date=March 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329011223/http://www.amysohn.com/articles/new-york-press-2/musicians-mensches-and-muff-diving-ally-sheedy-by-amy-sohn/#expand |url-status=dead}}</ref> Her parents divorced in 1971.<ref name="Rochlin">{{cite news |last=Rochlin |first=Margy |title=FILM; Ally Sheedy Makes a Bid To Be Taken Seriously |work=[[The New York Times]] |publication-date=June 14, 1998 |page=13 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/14/arts/film-ally-sheedy-makes-a-bid-to-be-taken-seriously.html?pagewanted=3&src=pm |access-date=September 29, 2024 |archive-date=September 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930022151/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/14/arts/film-ally-sheedy-makes-a-bid-to-be-taken-seriously.html?pagewanted=3&src=pm |url-status=live}}</ref>

She attended the [[Bank Street College of Education#Bank Street School for Children|Bank Street School for Children]], followed by [[Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School]] in New York City, graduating in 1980. She started dancing with the [[American Ballet Theatre]] at age six<ref name="trib98">{{cite news |last=Dretzka |first=Gary |title=Back from the edge, Ally Sheedy may be on the verge of another breakthrough |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |publication-date=June 28, 1998 |page=6 |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/30733702.html?dids=30733702:30733702&FMT=ABS |access-date=September 29, 2024 |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104145101/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/30733702.html?dids=30733702:30733702&FMT=ABS |url-status=dead}}</ref> and was planning to make it a full-time career. She gave up dance in favor of acting full time, however, and then started studying with acting teacher [[Harold Guskin]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Neumaier |first=Joe |title=New York native Ally Sheedy never strays far from the Upper West Side |work=[[New York Daily News]] |publication-date=July 17, 2010 |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2010/07/17/new-york-native-ally-sheedy-never-strays-far-from-the-upper-west-side/ |access-date=September 29, 2024 |archive-date=September 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930023321/https://www.nydailynews.com/2010/07/17/new-york-native-ally-sheedy-never-strays-far-from-the-upper-west-side/ |url-status=live}}</ref> At age 12 she wrote a book, ''She Was Nice to Mice'', which was published by [[McGraw-Hill Education]] and became a best-seller.<ref name="trib98" /> The story was released in 1976 as a spoken word album on the [[Caedmon Audio|Caedmon]] label (TC 1506).<ref>{{cite web |title=Ally Sheedy - She Was Nice To Mice (1976, Vinyl) |website=[[Discogs]] |date=1976 |publisher=[[Caedmon Audio|Caedmon Records]] |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/15943704-Ally-Sheedy-She-Was-Nice-To-Mice |access-date=September 29, 2024 |archive-date=September 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240930025151/https://www.discogs.com/release/15943704-Ally-Sheedy-She-Was-Nice-To-Mice |url-status=live}}</ref> On June 19, 1975, she appeared on the game show ''[[To Tell the Truth]]'' as herself promoting the novel which was on the adult reading list.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Young Ally Sheedy on "To Tell the Truth" in 1975 |publication-date=July 15, 2013 |website=The Retroist |url=https://www.retroist.com/p/a-young-ally-sheedy-on-to-tell-the-truth-in-1975 |access-date=September 29, 2024 |archive-date=September 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930025557/https://www.retroist.com/p/a-young-ally-sheedy-on-to-tell-the-truth-in-1975 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Nobleman |first=Marc Tyler |author-link=Marc Tyler Nobleman |title=Ally Sheedy at age 13 on "To Tell the Truth" (1975) |publication-date=November 8, 2023 |website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJU3jX-V8vk |access-date=September 29, 2024 |archive-date=September 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907052048/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJU3jX-V8vk |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Sheedy |first=Ally |author-link=Ally Sheedy |others=Illustrated by Jessica Ann Levy |title=She Was Nice to Mice: The Other Side of Elizabeth I's Character Never Before Revealed by Previous Historians |publication-date=1975 |url=https://archive.org/details/shewasnicetomice00shee/mode/1up |url-status=live |location=Blacklick, Ohio |publisher=[[McGraw Hill Education|McGraw Hill]] |isbn=978-0-070-56515-9 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240930032357/https://archive.org/details/shewasnicetomice00shee/mode/1up |archive-date=September 30, 2024}}</ref>

At age 18, Sheedy relocated to Los Angeles, California, where she enrolled in the drama department at the [[University of Southern California]].<ref name=willistein>{{cite news|work=[[The Morning Call]]|title=A NEW CONNECTION WITH 'SHORT CIRCUIT,' ALLY SHEEDY PLUGS INTO A STARRING ROLE|url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1986-05-09-2526349-story.html|date=May 9, 1986|last=Willistein|first=Paul|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201121085607/https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1986-05-09-2526349-story.html|archive-date=November 21, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Sheedy concurrently began her acting career and intermittently completed three years' worth of courses toward a [[Bachelor of Fine Arts|BFA]] degree in acting.<ref name=willistein/>