Sheila James Kuehl (born February 9, 1941) is an American politician and retired actress, who served as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 3rd District from 2014 to 2022.

[4][5] Airing in the adjacent studios were the popular drama The Cisco Kid and The Bob Hope Show with Doris Day (whom Kuehl admired).

[5] As her college studies continued she moved into a sorority house and began spending summers as a counsellor for a children's camp.

[5] At the age of eighteen, while working at the camp, Kuehl met a twenty-one year-old counsellor named Kathy and fell in love.

[5] During this time, Kuehl began acting the role for which she is probably best known – her portrayal of teen-aged genius Zelda Gilroy, the would-be girlfriend of the title character in the television series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, which aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963.

[8] Kuehl earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1962, during the show's final season.

[9] Having signed a contract in 1960 to do 21 shows for the next season of Dobie, that same year Kuehl was elected an officer in both the university student government and in her sorority.

When she returned from summer vacation, the council (while speaking in coded language and carefully avoiding the word "lesbian") confronted Kuehl with the letters demanding an explanation.

[4] After Dobie Gillis ended its run, Kuehl (as "Sheila James") co-starred with Kathleen Nolan, formerly of The Real McCoys, in the short-lived ABC television series Broadside, a female version of McHale's Navy, in its 1964–65 season.

Kuehl made television guest appearances on National Velvet; McHale's Navy; The Donna Reed Show; The Beverly Hillbillies; Petticoat Junction; The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet; Marcus Welby, M.D.

[10] On Petticoat Junction, Kuehl joined the Bradley sisters in a band called The Ladybugs, which was created to compete with Beatlemania.

Though Kuehl "can't state with certainty that she was blacklisted" from further acting jobs over her sexuality, she claims that afterwards, "with few exceptions, the phone stopped ringing.

"[7] A pilot for a Dobie Gillis spin-off, in which the character Zelda was the lead, was produced, but the president of CBS, Jim Aubrey, thought Kuehl was "too butch" to be a star for their network.

She later recalled: So it wasn't until I went to [Harvard] law school in my thirties that I fell in love again with a woman after having dated lots of men in between, and I thought 'Oh, no, this is really who I am.'

While working in private practice in Los Angeles Kuehl began fund-raising for the Sojourn Center for Battered Women (which she eventually served as chair).

"[15] She then joined a handful of other lawyers in trying to assist in crafting legislation on the issue which included a bill that required judges in custody cases to consider evidence of domestic violence.

This was due largely as an out-flowing of the enthusiasm stoked up by Newt Gingrich's strategy supporting Republicans for congressional and senatorial seats.

"[4] The debate was cited by the media, such as the LA Times, for its moving speeches, most notably Assemblyman Tom Torlakson's support of the bill which included a here-to unknown revelation that his brother had been bisexual and died of AIDS.

Supporters of the bill blamed "a state-wide public relations campaign by anti-gay groups aimed at moderate Democrats" which "featured mailers, newspaper ads and protests largely targeted at Latino lawmakers.

"[16] While in the assembly, Kuehl served as speaker pro tempore during the 1997–98 legislative session, becoming the first woman in California history to hold the position.

[19][20] In 2004, Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, held that denying homosexuals the right to marry was a violation of the due process clause in the California Constitution and allowed them to go forward (until a later Court order was made).

After the mayor's announcement Kuehl presided over a number of same-sex marriages on the steps of San Francisco's City Hall rotunda.

Kuehl also officiated over the weddings of Torie Osborn and her partner, Lydia Vaias; Jehan Agrama and Dwora Fried; Patti Giggans and Ellen Ledley; Barrie Levy and Linda Garnets; and Avi Rose and Ron Strochlic.

Assemblymember Mark Leno (who had recently introduced a bill to change the family code to allow marriage equality) also attended the ceremonies giving a blessing in English and Hebrew to the couples.

[21] Also in 2004, Kuehl authored Senate Bill 1234, an omnibus act intended to protect Californians from hate crimes, which the bill defined as criminal acts committed in whole or in part because of the victims' actual or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or association with persons with any of those characteristics.

In 2006, Kuehl sponsored a bill to prohibit the adoption by any school district in California of any instructional material that discriminates against persons based on their gender or sexual orientation.

During her time in the state Legislature Kuehl authored bills pertaining to domestic violence, child support services, family leave, and discrimination based on gender, disability and sexual orientation.

A partial list of her work includes raising the minimum wage, creating a Citizens' Oversight Commission for the Sheriff's Department, providing funding and services for LA County's homeless population and those trying to find and keep affordable housing.

"[4] Reflecting on her political career Kuehl told an interviewer, "I was very proud of the fact that I wasn't too frightened to run for office as a gay person.

In an August 2024 court approved agreement ending the investigation, they stated there was "insufficient evidence to support the filing of any criminal charges".