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For some women actors, the path is clear. You demonstrate that you have acting chops and solid comic timing by playing the protagonist's temporary love interest in one or two episodes of Saved by the Bell. After a few years, you do a one-off in the first season of Friends, land a supporting role in one of the many failed sitcoms to occupy NBC's cushy post-Seinfeld time slot, and move up to co-star in a popular family sitcom. At least, that's what you do if you're Leah Remini (currently starring in The King of Queens), and you have the tiny stature and conventionally cute face of a latter-day Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

It's a little tougher if you're Jo Anderson. Because then you're a tall, square-jawed redhead, and, in your longest-running role to date -- originating the role of secondary sister Charley (later to be played by moderate Hey! It's That Guy! Sheila Kelley) on the Lifetime staple Sisters -- you were saddled with an unfortunate, Brian Setzeresque coif. And when you're a statuesque woman with strong, striking features, the last thing you need is a hairdo that makes you look more butch.

Anderson has been fortunate to connect with directors and TV producers who have given her roles for which she's instantly recognizable...at least, among discrete groups of cultish fans. Shut-ins, the "self-employed," and die-hard Rob Morrow fans will remember her two guest-starring roles on Northern Exposure -- as Sapphic town co-founder Roslyn in a beloved flashback episode, and as anti-feminist schoolteacher Jane Harris, who granted Holling his GED. Obsessive JFK conspiracy theorists will remember her as Julia Ann Mercer in Oliver Stone's movie -- the polished Dallas wife who spotted Jack Ruby driving a truck the day of the assassination. And menopausal women or bored Canadians who can't find anything else on TV at 3 PM (um. Me.) remember her too-brief stint on the aforementioned Sisters.

Unless there is a Sarah, Plain and Tall prequel in the works, the odds of Jo Anderson's landing a major starring role -- despite her undeniable talent -- are slim. However, if Gillian Anderson ever chooses to step down from her role as Dana Scully, and Chris Carter is looking around for another laconic, poker-faced, unconventionally attractive redhead, we hope he'll give Jo Anderson a call.