NEED TO KNOW
Actress Cybill Shepherd is opening up about mending fences with some of her former co-stars — including Bruce Willis and Christine Baranski.
Shepherd, 75, spoke to PEOPLE for an exclusive interview tied to her new stage show, Queen of the Lucky Club produced by Chris Isaacson Presents, in which she sings, shares behind-the-scenes footage and tells stories about her career.
Asked about Willis’ diagnoses with aphasia and announcement that he would be stepping away from acting, Shepherd acknowledged that she was able to mend fences with him prior to him going public with his health struggles.
“Yes, I’m very grateful for that,” she said, adding, “Yeah, it was time.”
Shepherd and Willis, 70, both starred in the television series, Moonlighting, a comedy-drama TV series that aired on ABC from March 1985 to May 1989.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty
And while the chemistry in the show — which followed a former model (Shepherd) and a detective (Bruce) who manage a private detective agency — was undeniable, a feud was seemingly brewing behind the scenes.
Shepherd called Willis “a jerk” in the tabloids, while also admitting the two had a flirtation upon initially meeting.
In a 1990 interview on the Arsenio Hall Show, Willis was asked whether he would consider reuniting with Shepherd for a future project, saying: “I don’t think so. Not right now, anyway. Look, Moonlighting was a very good show for me, and I had a lot of fun doing it. It reached a point where it was no longer fun.”
Following Willis’ diagnosis, Shepherd spoke warmly of her former co-star, telling Extra: “I will always love Bruce.”
Speaking to PEOPLE, Shepherd also touched on a rumored feud with another former co-star: Baranski, who starred alongside Shepherd on the sitcom Cybill, in which Shepherd starred as a struggling middle-aged actor who attempts to make a career for herself. Baranski played her best friend Maryann on the show, which ran for four seasons from 1995 to 1998.
In Shepherd’s 2000 memoir, Cybill Disobedience, she wrote that she and Baranski didn’t get along due to Baranski being “unfriendly.”
CBS via Getty
For her part, Baranski told The Guardian in a 2022 interview: “I have never publicly gone into that. Yes, there were issues, but I prefer to take the higher ground and say, look, that show gave me so much.”
Speaking to PEOPLE, Shepherd said of she and Baranski: “We’re good now.”
Asked how the two were able to get to a better place, Shepherd added: “Just a talk and be real open-hearted with each other.”
