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Heather Locklear’s rocker love went from Tommy Lee to Richie Sambora

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11 Jan 2022
5 min read
Question: this guitarist was long married to heather locklear...

One of television’s most active 1980’s-1990’s actress no doubt had a type.

L.A.-native Heather Locklear, an essence of the era’s SoCal blonde babe, proved a small screen regular for the better part of two decades; after a quick stint of early ‘80’s one-time and small supporting TV roles, Locklear nabbed the primetime part of Sammy Jo Carrington on Dynasty, ultimately appearing in 127 episodes, first as a recurring character for seasons 2-5 of the popular drama, and later a main player for the show’s latter four seasons.  Concurrently, Locklear played Officer Stacy Sheridan on the William Shatner-led T.J. Hooker from 1982-86.

A host of lessor appearances ensued before Locklear regained star status with her portrayal of Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place; across seven seasons of the drama (which she co-produced in its final years), Locklear would nab four consecutive Golden Globe noms (1994-97) before eventually transitioning to a her role as Caitlin Moore across 71 episodes of ABC’s Spin City.

Along the way, Locklear made as many headlines for her life off the screen.

From 1986-1993, she was married to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, which preceded the rocker’s three-year marriage to actress Pamela Anderson.  Following the pairs divorce, it didn’t take long for Locklear to find another rock beau – Richie Sambora, guitarist for Bon Jovi.  Three years’ into the marriage, the two had a daughter, Ava Elizabeth Sambora; come 2007, that relationship also ended in divorce.  Shortly thereafter, Locklear was romantically linked for a time to fellow actor Jack Wagner.

Distanced from marriages to rockers in their respective primes, Locklear had a reported tough run in the decade which followed, including well-documented issues with substance abuse, along with health problems.

Having seemingly righted her ship’s course, however, in 2021, according to People.com she got engaged to her high school boyfriend, Chris Heisser, and also nabbed her first acting gig since 2017, appearing as the title character Kristine Carlson in Lifetime TV movie, Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story.

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