I've had women come up to me and say I was the reason they went to law school.

She adopted her mother's maiden name as her professional name. They have one daughter Sarah Hirshan (born 1978). Although the show ran until 1995 Dey was replaced in 1993 by Annie Potts.

A. Her more prominent parts came as elder daughter Laurie Partridge on the 1970s sitcom The Partridge Family and as Grace Van Owen a California assistant district attorney and judge on the dramatic series L.