Caitlin O'Heaney (; born Kathleen Heaney; August 16, 1952 – May 18, 2026) was an American television, film and stage actress. She worked extensively in live theater, but is best known for playing Sarah Stickney White, the female lead on the ABC series Tales of the Gold Monkey in the early 1980s. O'Heaney also played Snow White Charming in the first season of ABC's The Charmings in 1987.
Early life and education O'Heaney was born Kathleen Heaney in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 16, 1952. She was raised in Whitefish Bay, where she attended Whitefish Bay High School. O'Heaney was of Irish descent and was raised Roman Catholic. She has two older sisters.
She won a full scholarship to the Juilliard School in New York City when she was 17. She was a member of the Juilliard Drama Division's Group 3 (1970–1974).
Stage career O'Heaney made her off-Broadway debut as Loretta in The Hot House at the Chelsea Theatre, then remained at the Chelsea to play Finkel in Yentl and to understudy Tovah Feldshuh in the title role. She moved to Broadway to understudy the role of Elizabeth in A Matter of Gravity, starring Katharine Hepburn and co-starring her Juilliard friend and colleague Christopher Reeve.
She relocated to Seattle to appear as Celia in As You Like It, Gwendolyn in Travesties, and Eylie in Ladyhouse Blues at ACT/Seattle, then returned to New York to play the double roles of Belle and Mrs. Cratchit in A Christmas Carol at Playwrights Horizon. When A Christmas Carol closed, O'Heaney moved to Los Angeles, and five weeks later she was cast as Anna Marie Hollyhock in the 1978 ABC comedy series Apple Pie, which was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Peter Bonerz, and starred Rue McClanahan, Dabney Coleman, Jack Gilford, Derrel Maury, Mike Binder and Richard Libertini. This was a highlight of O'Heaney's career. She said with regard to the experience, "It was pure magic and incredible fun working every day with these wonderful people!"
O'Heaney remained in Los Angeles to play fourteen-year-old Bianca in White Marriage at the Odyssey Theatre and won a Drama-Logue Award for Best Actress for the role. She then returned to the East Coast to star as Ersilla Drei in Pirandello's Naked at the Syracuse Stage, and performances in Ape Watch at the Mark Taper Forum Lab and in The Brides at the Lenox Art Centre soon followed. She appeared off-Broadway as Olive Lashbrook in The Voice of the Turtle, for which she received a very positive review in The New York Times, and in Scenes and Revelations.
Film and television work O'Heaney appeared in the television movie The Seeding of Sarah Burns in 1979 and as waitress Lurleen Hamett in ABC's One Life to Live. She played the female lead, Amy, in the horror feature He Knows You're Alone (1980), which was Tom Hanks' first feature film. In 1982, she was cast in the lead female role of Sarah Stickney White in ABC's Tales of the Gold Monkey, also starring Stephen Collins, Roddy McDowall and Jeff MacKay. She also appeared as 1930s Hollywood actress Dolores Farrar in Woody Allen's 1983 film Zelig, and Allen would cast her again in The Purple Rose of Cairo in 1985. She played Miss Farmer in the 1987 film Three O'Clock High.
Although she was active in television until 1993, O'Heaney did not appear in any feature films for nearly two decades, then returned in 2002 as Mrs. Woodbridge in The Emperor's Club with Kevin Kline, O'Heaney's colleague and friend at Juilliard. She also played Aunt Fran in the 2005 film Brooklyn Lobster, and most recently appeared in the 2007 independent feature Asylum Seekers. O'Heaney wrapped the feature film Late Phases, a thriller directed by Adrian Garcia Bogliano, in June 2013 in which she played the role of Emma.Late Phases – Go Behind the Scenes of the Werewolf Action
Other work and interests In the mid-1970s, Salvador Dalí offered Caitlin the opportunity to model for him, but Gala, his wife, was not in favor of the project so it was canceled.
In 2006-2007, O'Heaney performed on radio with Air Pirates Radio Theater.
In February 2008, she wrote the music and lyrics for an anti-war environmentalist song titled "Who Have We Freed?" which she recorded with Pete Seeger. She and Seeger have performed "Who Have We Freed?" at various environmental/anti-war festivals in and around New York.
O'Heaney was involved with independent playwrights at Manhattan Theatre Source and the National Arts Club, both in New York City.
Death O'Heaney died in Westchester County, New York, on May 18, 2026, at the age of 73.Caitlin O’Heaney, Actress in ‘He Knows You’re Alone’ and ‘Tales of the Gold Monkey,’ Dies at 73
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1979 Savage Weekend Shirley Sales 1979The Seeding of Sarah BurnsLinda Television film1980He Knows You're Alone Amy Jensen 1981Wolfen ESS Operator 1982A Midsummer Night's Sex ComedyDolores Farrar Uncredited 1983 Zelig Scenes cut 1985 The Purple Rose of Cairo Scenes cut 1986 Convicted Laura Larkin Television film 1987Three O'Clock High Miss Farmer 1988Badlands 2005 Sarah Gwynne Television film 2002The Emperor's Club Mrs. Woodbridge 2014Late Phases Emma
Television Year Title Role Notes1978 Apple Pie Anna Marie Hollyhock 7 episodes 1982Tales of the Gold Monkey Sarah Stickney White 21 episodes1984AfterMASH Laura 1 episode 1986Spenser: For Hire Laure Louise Johnson 1 episode 1986Silver Spoons Jackie 1 episode 1987 St. Elsewhere Debbie Hoffman 1 episode1987The CharmingsSnow White Charming 6 episodes 1987Murder, She Wrote Tara Sillman 1 episode 1987Beauty and the Beast Bridget O'Donnell 1 episode1987L.A. Law Kiki Sennheiser 1 episode 1989 Alien Nation Jenny Moffatt 1 episode 1990 Matlock Mrs. Estes 1 episode 1990 Over My Dead Body Lila Chalmers 1 episode 1992Civil WarsCarol Bloch1 episode 1993Raven Erin Stucky 1 episode
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