Shelley was a busy actress in the 1980s. After opting to leave Charlie's Angels in 1980, she went full-time into an acting career. She appeared on stage, TV and in the movies. She immediately tackled stage after Angels via the Jack Heifner play Vanities and gained critical praise for her work. Other stage plays soon came after (Elizabeth Diggs's play Close Ties, Garson Kanin’s Born Yesterday and John Krizanc's Tamara at the end of the decade) and she got critical praise for them as well. She starred in the feature films Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy and Joseph Ruben's The Stepfather and got glowing reviews. In the series Cutter to Houston and Jack and Mike, she got mixed reviews but was generally praised for efforts. Shelley was determined to honing her craft.
