Shelley rehearsing for the 1983 filmed-for-TV-play Close Ties
Shelley took to the stage when she walked out of Charlie's Angels in 1980. She began with Jack Heifner's filmed-for-TV-play Vanities in 1981, where she surprised everyone and received excellent reviews. In 1983, she starred in another filmed-for-TV-play, Elizabeth Diggs' Close Ties. In it, she played Anna, the daughter of a women in her 80s who was slowly going senile. Again, Shelley received excellent reviews for her performance.