# Heather Thomas
**Heather Thomas** (born 1957) is a retired American actress best known for co-starring as stuntwoman Jody Banks on the ABC television series *The Fall Guy* (1981–86) opposite [Lee Majors](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-majors).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/heather_thomas) Born in [Greenwich, Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/greenwich-connecticut), she was one of the most popular television actresses of the 1980s, later left acting, and became a writer and political activist.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/heather_thomas) • [2](https://parade.com/celebrities/fall-guy-star-heather-thomas-reveals-why-she-left-hollwyood-interview-steve-kmetko)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1957, Greenwich, Connecticut, USA[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/heather_thomas) |
| Signature role | Jody Banks on *The Fall Guy* (ABC, 1981–86), opposite Lee Majors[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/heather_thomas) |
| Early break | Co-hosted and wrote the NBC Saturday-morning celebrity interview show *Talking with a Giant* while in junior high[3](https://stillherehollywood.com/episodes/heather-thomas-fall-guy) |
| Films | *Zapped!* (1982), *Cyclone* (1987), *The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission* (1988), *Hidden Obsession* (1993), *My Giant* (1998), *The Ghost Trap* (2024)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/heather_thomas) |
| Departure from acting | Left Hollywood, saying she was heavily stalked; in a resurfaced interview she recalled, "I always had a bodyguard"[2](https://parade.com/celebrities/fall-guy-star-heather-thomas-reveals-why-she-left-hollwyood-interview-steve-kmetko) |
| Writing | Author of the novel *Trophies*, about the influence of women in elite charity and political circles[4](https://popgeeks.com/actress-heather-thomas-career-interview/) |
## Early career
Thomas entered television as a child. Producers visiting her junior high school recruited accelerated-class students for a show, and she ended up co-hosting, writing for, and appearing on *Talking with a Giant*, an NBC Saturday-morning program on which she interviewed celebrities; it ran for two years.[3](https://stillherehollywood.com/episodes/heather-thomas-fall-guy) She has said the experience made her comfortable on camera, and that she initially intended to become a filmmaker, entering UCLA as a film major in her junior year.[3](https://stillherehollywood.com/episodes/heather-thomas-fall-guy)
Commercial work paid for her film school. She has described claiming she could do anything to win commercial jobs, including a "milk, does a body good" campaign and a role as a dancer in a production of *The Boom-Boom Room*, which brought her an agent.[3](https://stillherehollywood.com/episodes/heather-thomas-fall-guy) She also entered the directors and assistant directors program, but found that women assistant directors were treated poorly in the early 1980s and described the track as a dead end at that time.[3](https://stillherehollywood.com/episodes/heather-thomas-fall-guy)
Her early screen credits include guest spots on *David Cassidy – Man Undercover* (1978), *The Love Boat* (1979), *B.J. and the Bear* (1980), and the series *Co-Ed Fever* (1979), in which she played Sandi.[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/62798/heather-thomas) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/heather_thomas)
## The Fall Guy and 1980s fame
**Jody Banks.** Thomas co-starred with Lee Majors on *The Fall Guy* from 1981 to 1986, playing Jody Banks, a fellow stuntwoman on the series about a stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter.[3](https://stillherehollywood.com/episodes/heather-thomas-fall-guy) • [6](https://locable-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/resource/file/1119820/DIV-05-24-2024.pdf?timestamp=1743661055) Her popularity on the show made her a pinup model whose posters, in one account, "graced the walls of teen boys' rooms all over the world."[3](https://stillherehollywood.com/episodes/heather-thomas-fall-guy)
During the same period she appeared in the ABC specials *Battle of the Network Stars XII*, *XIII*, and *XV* (1981–84) and in the CBS special *The Magic of David Copperfield* (1983–84).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/heather_thomas) Guest roles in the decade included Lila Pearsell on *The Love Boat* (1983) and Sandy Wyzinski on *T.J. Hooker* (1984).[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/62798/heather-thomas) • [7](https://www.fernsehserien.de/heather-thomas/filmografie)
Her 1980s film work was largely in genre pictures: Jane Mitchell in the comedy *Zapped!* (1982), Teri Marshall in *Cyclone* (1987), Lieutenant Carol Campbell in *The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission* (1988), and [Marilyn Monroe](https://www.edgepedia.org/marilyn-monroe) in the miniseries *Hoover vs. the Kennedys: The Second Civil War* (1987–88).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/heather_thomas)
## Leaving acting
Thomas stepped back from acting in the late 1980s and 1990s, with credits becoming sparse: *Hidden Obsession* (1993), a role as a showgirl in the [Billy Crystal](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-crystal) comedy *My Giant* (1998), and, decades later, *The Ghost Trap* (2024).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/heather_thomas) She has attributed the retreat to stalking. When Reuters asked her in 2009 whether conditions in 1980s Hollywood were bad enough to make her quit, she answered, "Yes, I was getting so stalked," and in a later resurfaced interview she said, "I always had a bodyguard."[2](https://parade.com/celebrities/fall-guy-star-heather-thomas-reveals-why-she-left-hollwyood-interview-steve-kmetko)
## Writing and advocacy
After leaving acting, Thomas turned to writing and political work. Her novel *Trophies* draws on her experience in charity boards and political campaigns after she stepped back from full-time work; she has described the subculture of well-connected wives who, in her words, get museums, universities, politicians, and causes off the ground while being written off as trophy wives.[4](https://popgeeks.com/actress-heather-thomas-career-interview/) [Interview](https://www.edgepedia.org/interview) accounts of her later career also describe political activism alongside the writing.[4](https://popgeeks.com/actress-heather-thomas-career-interview/)
## Distinguishing namesakes
Several public figures share the name. Heather H. Thomas is an American poet and Professor Emerita of English at Kutztown University, author of seven poetry collections including *Vortex Street* and *Resurrection Papers*.[8](https://www.heatherhthomas.com/biography) Heather Tom is a five-time Emmy-winning daytime actress who plays Katie Logan on CBS's *The Bold and the Beautiful*.[9](https://heathertom.com/bio) A separate Heather Thomas is a British health and cookery writer, author of a series of single-ingredient cookbooks published by Ebury.[10](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2145847/heather-thomas/)
## References
1. [Heather Thomas – Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/heather_thomas)
2. ['Fall Guy' Star Reveals Why She Left the Limelight in Resurfaced Interview – Parade](https://parade.com/celebrities/fall-guy-star-heather-thomas-reveals-why-she-left-hollwyood-interview-steve-kmetko)
3. [Heather Thomas "Fall Guy" – Still Here Hollywood interview transcript](https://stillherehollywood.com/episodes/heather-thomas-fall-guy)
4. [The Flashback Interview: Heather Thomas – PopGeeks](https://popgeeks.com/actress-heather-thomas-career-interview/)
5. [Heather Thomas – TVmaze credits](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/62798/heather-thomas)
6. [Dixon Independent Voice, May 24, 2024](https://locable-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/resource/file/1119820/DIV-05-24-2024.pdf?timestamp=1743661055)
7. [Filmografie Heather Thomas – fernsehserien.de](https://www.fernsehserien.de/heather-thomas/filmografie)
8. [Biography – Heather H. Thomas](https://www.heatherhthomas.com/biography)
9. [Biography – Heather Tom](https://heathertom.com/bio)
10. [Heather Thomas – Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2145847/heather-thomas/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Sw to T*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license