Vonda Woman

Kirk Baird

Friday, Feb. 1, 2002 | 4:26 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

Vonda Shepard owes more to her success than hard work and perseverance.

Signed to Warner Bros., the singer-songwriter was dropped by her label in 1992 after only two albums. She also found herself without an agent and manager.

But her friendship with David Kelley changed all that. The creator behind such TV successes as "The Practice," "Chicago Hope" and "Boston Public," Kelley asked Shepard if she would consider performing two or three songs on a pilot series he was developing about a neurotic twentysomething lawyer.

Now in its fifth year, "Ally McBeal" launched the career of Shepard, who appears regularly on the show as a club singer/musical conscious of the title character. She also performed on and produced the show's three successful spin-off albums, in addition to recording her own work and touring.

The Sun recently spoke to 38-year-old Shepard, performing Feb. 10 at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, from her home in Los Angeles about her career, rumors about her personal life and her commercial for hamburger chain Hardee's:

Las Vegas Sun: So how close are you in real life to the character of Ally McBeal?

Vonda Shepard: In some ways, I'm looking for similar things in my life, which a lot of women are in America: a great career, a great man, perfect situation, a great house, a balance of time and balance of friends. In a way, I'm not like her. I hold more in, I don't just speak the truth instantly. If I'm having an argument, it's harder for me to conjure up the directness; and then I finally do. But she kind of blurts things out more easily and then deals with the consequences.

Sun: Since most people know you through "Ally McBeal," if and when the show is canceled, could that identification with the show hurt your career?

VS: It's possible, but I've made a great effort to keep my solo career going through touring and doing solo albums. It's been intense. I've had two careers going the whole time and I know it's going to end some day. After the first of this year, I've been making sure I've continued that solo career.

For example, every year I go to Europe over (the show's) hiatus and tour the entire time. So over in Europe I have a pretty big following and can play 5,000 to 10,000 seats, and that's exciting.

Sun: Is it true David Kelley and his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer, met at one of your concerts?

VS: No, that's not true (laughs). It's funny what's gotten around. When I was 19, that's when I met Michelle -- she was at one of my gigs. She was married to somebody else at the time. At the same time David Kelley used to see me play. But none of us met. He didn't meet Michelle. I didn't meet him. He never came backstage to say hi.

Sun: If David Kelley wasn't a fan of yours, do you still think you would have found success?

VS: I doubt it. I don't think it would have happened. But it's not to say it wouldn't. If you think about when I was 19, 20, 21, David was coming to my shows back then, it was possible if I continued playing live somebody like a David would have come into the room and something would have happened. Maybe a song in a movie, maybe a part in a film as an actor. So that's the part we'll never know.

I'm not one of those networkers. Some people network and surround themselves with famous, successful people. Maybe they like them, but maybe they do it just to have prospects. But I never did that. My brain doesn't work that way. Michelle is one of my closest friends. It just kind of happened that it worked out that way.

Sun: Now that you're famous, you've become a target for the Hollywood rumor mill. What's the weirdest story about you that has made the rounds?

VS: I was on the road with Jackson Browne and his girlfriend, who's still his girlfriend now, and we were at the airport. I called my sister and she said, "I just heard on E (cable network) that Jackson left his girlfriend for you." And I went over to them and said, "Oh, guess what? Jackson just left you for me. I just wanted to let you know that." And they started cracking up.

Sun: It's good that you have a sense of humor about it all.

VS: Oh, there was a terrible, terrible lie that was going around about me, that I'd stolen my current boyfriend from his wife, which is absolutely not true. And when that happens, you feel so vulnerable because you think that there are people out there who are going to believe it. It's really sad and terrible.

Sun: How did you handle it?

VS: Well that one got out all over the world and I kept up with the, "I'm not going to dignify that statement with a comment." That's all I said.

It went away but I can still can get asked about it in an interview. I was in England last year and a woman asked, "So, is it true?" And I said, "Wow, I didn't realize it got all the way over here." It was just terrible.

Sun: The national fast-food chain Hardee's used you and other famous singers in an ad campaign. In one of their commercials you were extoling the virtues of their food in a song. But have you ever eaten at Hardee's?

VS: No. Isn't that awful? They just helped me buy my house, that's all. I don't eat meat, so that's one problem. I remember when I was singing, "biscuits, bacon, bacon shakin', wakin' up the U.S.A.," I went, "OK, I'm glad I studied acting for four years." I'm not really much of a fast-food person. I'm more of an organic-vegetable, free-range person myself.

But I did sell a little part of myself for that, because I'm not stupid.