Background
Thomas was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Gladdy Lou Ryder, a special education teacher in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
Thomas was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Gladdy Lou Ryder, a special education teacher in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
She graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1975 and went on to attend University of California, Los Angeles School of Theater, Film and Television, graduating in 1980.
Thomas started acting at age 14, when she was one of the hosts of a series on National Broadcasting Company called Talking with a Giant, where she interviewed celebrities. In 1978 she began acting in small television roles. She appeared in the series Company-Editor Fever, of which she later said, "lieutenant was canceled after the third commercial."
After Company-Editor Fever"s cancellation, Thomas was chosen for the role of Jody Banks in The Fall Guy, which starred Lee Majors and was produced by Glen Larson, from its 1981 premiere to its 1986 cancellation.
Unfortunately, Thomas developed a cocaine addiction during her run in the program, and entered rehabilitation for that addiction in 1984.
She appeared in several movies, the first of which was Zapped! in 1982(see below for her filmography), but she gave up acting in 1998. Thomas appeared on numerous pin-up posters during the 1980s.
Following her acting career, Thomas wrote a screenplay called School Slut and sold it to Touchstone Pictures for a figure reported as "mid-six-figure." Touchstone did not make the film, however, and Thomas acquired the rights to produce it herself. In April 2008, Thomas"s first novel, Trophies, was published by William Morrow.
Which Harrison Ford described as having "made me laugh out loud.. ironic, smart and surprisingly touching.” Arianna Huffington described the characters in Trophies as "..powerful women flawlessly draped in Vera Wang, manicured hands pushing buttons while scratching their way to the top--the secret power brokers of Los Los Angeles
Heather Thomas has written a stiletto heel-sharp satiric romp.”.
While at University of California, Los Angeles, she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority.