While best known for her roles as the nosy neighbor, Mrs. Ochmonek, on the sitcom ALF (1986–1990), and Jerry's mother, Helen, in Seinfeld (1990–1998), her decades-long career was extensive and included work on the stage and on large and small screens.

[4] Sheridan began her professional life as a nightclub dancer and singer in the 1950s,[2] and spent much of her early career living and working in the Caribbean.

[6][7] Working in Hollywood, she came to prominence in supporting roles in over a dozen feature films and 60 prime time network television movies, mini-series, and series including Kojak,[3] Archie Bunker's Place,[8] St.

Elsewhere,[9] Newhart,[8] Moonlighting,[10] The A-Team, Who's the Boss, Hill St. Blues,[8] Cagney & Lacey, Family Ties,[11] Murder, She Wrote, and Double Rush.

[13][14] She appeared in all nine seasons, from 1990 to 1998, the only actor to do so apart from the four leads,[15] and was the last surviving actress to play one of the parents of the Seinfeld main cast members.

[13][16] In 2009, with Andy Griffith and Doris Roberts, Sheridan co-starred in the feature film Play the Game, a romantic comedy about a widowed grandfather who learns dating tricks from his serial romancer of a grandson.

She wrote a book, Dizzy & Jimmy: My Life with James Dean: A Love Story, chronicling their time together in the early 1950s.

"[19] At one point in their relationship, they found themselves traveling to Ohio with Major League Baseball player Clyde McCullough.

After a brief engagement to Justus "Pancho" Villa, she realized she did not want to marry him, broke it off, and returned for a time to New York City.