History Creator / DeltaBurke

->''"Eve wasn't a size 6 and neither am I."''

* ''Series/NeroWolfe'' as Jean Wellmann (1 episode)

* ''Series/{{Hotel}}'' as Sherry (1 episode)

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* ''Series/PromisedLand'' as Julia Fitzgerald (1 episode)

Burke first entered public life as a teenage beauty queen, winning the Miss Florida title in 1974 at age 18 - the youngest title holder at the time. She later competed in that year's Miss America pageant but placed outside the top ten. Afterwards, she transitioned to acting. Her first major role was in the short lived TV series ''Filthy Rich'', alongside Creator/DixieCarter. Her breakout role was in the HBO series ''1st and Ten'' as Diane Barrow, the unlikely female owner of a football team. From there she landed her now-best known role as Suzanne Sugarbaker in the sitcom ''Series/DesigningWomen''. She quickly because [[BreakoutCharacter the show's breakout star]], earning two consecutive Best Actress Emmy nominations in 1990 and 1991. However, she also experienced a lot of turbulence on the set which lead to her departure from the show in 1991. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment Details of her departure are murky and there have been conflicting accounts as to whether she left voluntarily or was fired]]. She then starred in the short-lived sitcom ''[[TheDanza Delta]]'', before she made up with ''Designing Women'''s creators and reprised her role of Suzanne Sugarbaker in ''Women of the House'', which also only lasted a year. Her last major roles were in the 2000 film ''Film/WhatWomenWant'' and the sitcom ''DAG'' before she more-or-less retired from acting and returned to living a private life in the mid-2000s. Since then, she's largely focused on her clothing company Delta Burke Design, which she founded in 1995 to market fashionable clothing for plus-sized women. She still makes occasional public appearances, usually with husband Creator/GeraldMcRaney (who she married in 1989), but doesn't seem to have much desire to return to public life.

Burke can also be considered a pioneer of the body positivity movement. At the height of her fame in the late 1980s/early 1990s Burke [[HollywoodPudgy gained a significant amount of weight]], at one point surpassing 200 lbs. The tabloids [[KickTheDog had a field day with her over this]] and she became a much-parodied figure in the media. ''Saturday Night Live'' portrayed Leon Phelps as having a sexual fixation with her, while another sketch comedy show once portrayed her getting revenge on her ''Designing Women'' co-stars by [[CrossesTheLineTwice eating them]]. The 1989 ''Designing Women'' episode "They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?" was intended to be her response to the fat-shaming and in subsequent interviews defended her changing appearance - the memorable quote atop the page is from her pushing back against her critics. She has advocated for greater acceptance of plus-sized women since the 1990s and without a doubt helped lay the foundation for the rise of the greater body positivity movement that emerged in TheNewTens.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[MemeticMutation Excuse me...EXCUSE ME!!]]]]

Burke first entered public life as a teenage beauty queen, winning the Miss Florida title in 1974 at age 18 - the youngest title holder at the time. She later competed in that year's Miss America pageant but placed outside the top ten. Afterwards, she transitioned to acting. Her first major role was in the short lived TV series ''Filthy Rich'', alongside Creator/DixieCarter. Her breakout role was in the HBO series ''1st and Ten'' as Diane Barrow, the unlikely female owner of a football team. From there she landed her now-best known role as Suzanne Sugerbaker in the sitcom ''Series/DesigningWomen''. She quickly because [[BreakoutCharacter the show's breakout star]], earning two consecutive Best Actress Emmy nominations in 1990 and 1991 for the role. However, she also experienced a lot of turbulence on the set which lead to her departure from the show in 1991. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment Details of her departure are murky and there have been conflicting accounts as to whether she left voluntarily or was fired]]. She then starred in the short-lived sitcom [[TheDanza ''Delta'']], before she made up with ''Designing Women'''s creators and reprising her role of Suzanne Sugarbaker in ''Women of the House'', which also only lasted a year. Her last major roles were in the 2000 film ''Film/WhatWomenWant'' and the sitcom ''DAG'' before she more-or-less retired from acting and returned to living a private life in the early 2000s. Since then, she's largely focused on her clothing company Delta Burke Design, which she founded in 1995 to market fashionable clothing for plus-sized women. She still makes occasional public appearances, usually with husband Creator/GeraldMcRaney (who she married in 1989), but doesn't seem to have much desire to return to public life.

Burke can also be considered a pioneer of the body positivity movement. At the height of her fame in the late 1980s/early 1990s Burke [[HollywoodPudgy gained a significant amount of weight]], at one point surpassing 200 lbs. The tabloids [[KickTheDog had a field day with her over this]] and she became a much-parodied figure in the media. ''Saturday Night Live'' portrayed Leon Phelps as having a sexual fixation with her, while another sketch comedy show once portrayed her as getting revenge on her ''Designing Women'' co-stars by [[CrossesTheLineTwice cannabilizing them for food]]. The 1989 ''DesigningWomen'' episode "They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?" was intended to be her response to the fat-shaming and in subsequent interviews defended her changing appearance. She has advocated for greater acceptance of plus-sized women since the 1990s and without a doubt helped lay the foundation for the rise of the greater body positivity movement that emerged in TheNewTens.

Burke first entered public life as a teenage beauty queen, winning the Miss Florida title in 1974 at age 18 - the youngest title holder at the time. She later competed in that year's Miss America pageant but placed outside the top ten. Afterwards, she transitioned to acting. Her first major role was in the short lived TV series ''Filthy Rich'', alongside Creator/DixieCarter. Her breakout role was in the HBO series ''1st and Ten'' as Diane Barrow, the unlikely female owner of a football team. From there she landed her now-best known role as Suzanne Sugerbaker in the sitcom ''Series/DesigningWomen''. She quickly because [[BreakoutCharacter the show's breakout star]], earning two consecutive Best Actress Emmy nominations in 1990 and 1991 for the role. However, she also experienced a lot of turbulence on the set which lead to her departure from the show in 1991. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement Details of her departure are murky and there have been conflicting accounts as to whether she left voluntarily or was fired]]. She then starred in the short-lived sitcom [[TheDanza ''Delta'']], before she made up with ''Designing Women'''s creators and reprising her role of Suzanne Sugarbaker in ''Women of the House'', which also only lasted a year. Her last major roles were in the 2000 film ''Film/WhatWomenWant'' and the sitcom ''DAG'' before she more-or-less retired from acting and returned to living a private life in the early 2000s. Since then, she's largely focused on her clothing company Delta Burke Design, which she founded in 1995 to market fashionable clothing for plus-sized women. She still makes occasional public appearances, usually with husband Creator/GeraldMcRaney (who she married in 1989), but doesn't seem to have much desire to return to public life.

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/32d94a76983263ef1649023d0d8d71c7.jpg]]

Delta Ramona Leah Burke (born July 30, 1956) is an American actress, producer, and author best known for ''Series/DesigningWomen''.

She is married to actor Creator/GeraldMcRaney.

* ''Series/FirstAndTen'' as Diane Barrow (6 episodes)

Delta Ramona Leah Burke (July 30, 1956) is an American actress, producer, and author best known for ''Series/DesigningWomen''.

* ''Film/HanselAndGretel'' as Stepmother

* ''Film/HanselAndGretel2002'' as Stepmother

* ''Film//GoodBoy'' as Barbara Ann