7th Heaven
Season 1 SABC2 (*192) 14:00 Drama
Catherine Hicks played Camden matriarch Annie on family drama 7th Heaven (1996-2007) and while she enjoyed her time in the role, it’s one she doesn’t like to talk about. In 2014, leaked audio tapes from therapy sessions exposed her on-screen husband Stephen Collins (Eric on 7th Heaven) as a sex predator (he abused girls in the ’70s). “We don’t talk. We had a great connection. But that is over. If we ever did a reboot, it would start with Annie standing over Eric’s coffin delivering his eulogy,” says Catherine.
1 The 69-year-old actress didn’t have to do much to research her role: she attended Gerard Catholic School in Arizona and earned her bachelor’s degree in theology from St Mary’s College.
2 Her husband is special effects master Kevin Yagher, who created the look of Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare On Elm Street horror movie franchise (1984-now). They married in 1990 after meeting on the set of 1988 horror movie Child’s Play in which Catherine played Karen Barclay, and they have daughter Caitlin (28).
3 Catherine took part in the 2015 doccie That Gal… Who Was In That Thing to highlight the way that women are treated in Hollywood and uses her position as a trustee of the Hollywood Arts Council to protect actresses’ rights.
4 She’s a human rights advocate and sits on the boards of various charities, saying that “I quit film work to give more time to volunteer work”. Her last film role was Cressida in 2014 kids movie The Dog Who Saved Easter.