Troy Byer

Troy Byer is an American psychologist, author, director, screenwriter, and actress. For most of her acting career she was credited as Troy Beyer.

Troy Byer
Born	New York City, U.S.
Other names	Troy Beyer
Occupation(s)	Psychologist, Author, Actress, Director, Screenwriter
Years active	1984–present
Spouse	Mark Burg (1994–2000)

Early life and education

Born in New York City to an African-American mother and Jewish father,^[1][2] Byer spent the first part of her career working in the entertainment industry. She began her acting career with a role on the children's program Sesame Street when she was four years old. She later studied acting and psychobiology at City University of New York and went on to earn a master's degree from Pacifica Graduate Institute in eco, liberation and community psychology. Byer holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from California Southern University with certification in Industrial Organizational Psychology.^{[citation needed]}

Career

After landing a bit part in Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club (1984), Byer moved to Los Angeles, and became a regular on the ABC prime-time soap opera Dynasty in 1986, playing Jackie Deveraux, the daughter of Diahann Carroll's character Dominique Deveraux. Byer went on to earn ShoWest's Newcomer of the Year award for her leading role in the feature Rooftops (1989).^{[citation needed]}

Since then, Byer acted in features such as Disorderlies (1987), The Five Heartbeats (1991) as Baby Doll, Weekend at Bernie's II (1993), Eddie (1996), Robert Altman's The Gingerbread Man (1998), and John Q (2002).

In 1997, Byer made her screenwriting debut with B*A*P*S. In 1998 she made her directing debut with her next screenplay, Let's Talk About Sex (1998) which she as well starred in; the film was picked up by Fine Line Features. In 2002 Byer wrote and directed Love Don't Cost a Thing based on the 1987 movie Can't Buy Me Love.^[3]

Byer is an active member of Agape International Spiritual Center and an advocate for the foster care system—a system to which she herself once belonged.^{[citation needed]}

Byer is also the author of two self-help books - How To Be Ex-Free: 9 Keys To Happiness After Heartbreak, and How To Be A Responsibly Powerful Bitch.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Byer has one son, Jordan Burg, with her ex-husband Mark Burg.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Uncle Tom's Cabin	Emmeline	TV movie
	Disorderlies	Carla
1989	Rooftops	Elena
1990	The White Girl	Kim
1991	The Five Heartbeats	Baby Doll
1993	Weekend at Bernie's II	Claudia
1994	3 Chains o' Gold	-	Video
1996	The Little Death	Defense Attorney
	Eddie	Beth Hastings
	Alien Avengers	-	TV movie
1997	B.A.P.S.	Tracy Shaw
1998	The Gingerbread Man	Konnie Dugan
	Let's Talk About Sex	Jasmine 'Jazz' Hampton
2001	Good Advice	Nancy
	Surviving Gilligan's Island	Diner
2002	John Q.	Miriam Smith
	A Light in the Darkness	Kira Hansen
	Malevolent	Kelly
2003	Recipe for Disaster	Welfare Officer	TV movie
2012	Mommy's Little Monster	Kira Hansen
2015	Ex-Free	Tanya

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1969	Sesame Street	herself	Recurring, seasons 1-6
1985	Knots Landing	Whitney	Recurring cast: season 7
1986–87	Dynasty	Jackie Deveraux	Recurring cast: Season 7
1987	21 Jump Street	Patty Blatcher	Episode: "The Worst Night of Your Life"
	A Different World	Monica Walters	Episode: "The Gift of the Magi"
1988	Sonny Spoon	Gwendolyn	Episode: "Semper Fi"
1989	A Man Called Hawk	Anna George	Episode: "Vendetta"
1991	The Cosby Show	Ellen	Episode: "No More Mr. Nice Guy"
1993	TriBeCa	Debra	Episode: "The Box"
	Walker, Texas Ranger	Catherine 'Cat' Prather	Episode: "End Run"
1994	Diagnosis: Murder	Brianna Jones	Episode: "Standing Eight Count"
1995	Red Shoe Diaries	Angel	Episode: "Billy Bar"
1996–97	Murder One	Carla Latrell	Recurring cast: season 2

References

1. "Mixed Actors and Actresses Page 2". Mixed Folks. Archived from the original on November 9, 2006. Retrieved December 13, 2006.
2. "Black Jews You Should Know, Part 3". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
3. "Troy Byer biography and filmography | Troy Byer movies". Tribute.ca. November 7, 1964. Retrieved March 11, 2015.

External links

• Troy Byer at IMDb