Cynthia Sikes

Cynthia Sikes Yorkin is an American actress and producer born in Coffeyville, Kansas. In 1972, she won the Miss Kansas title while attending Wichita State University, then competed in the Miss America pageant, where she won the preliminary swimsuit competition and placed among the Top 10 finalists. That same year, she was invited to perform as a singer and dancer on Bob Hope's 1972 USO Christmas Special, traveling through Vietnam, Thailand, and Diego Garcia to entertain military personnel.

Her formal theatrical training began in 1977 at William Ball's American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, where she earned a scholarship and appeared in productions including Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale, Dürrenmatt's The Visit, The Glass Menagerie, A Hatful of Rain, Bedtime Story, and A Christmas Carol. She made her Broadway debut in 1987, originating the lead role of the Baker's Wife in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods.

Following her Broadway work, Sikes Yorkin became a recurring presence in television. For three years she played Dr. Annie Cavanero on NBC's St. Elsewhere alongside Denzel Washington, and she appeared in episodes of Magnum P.I. She later took on the recurring role of Judge Monica Ryan on L.A. Law, played Dr. Sidney Walden on JAG, appeared on Arliss, and had a four-episode arc on NBC's Aquarius with David Duchovny. She also produced and starred in the CBS film Sins of Silence alongside Lindsay Wagner.

Her feature film work includes co-starring roles in Arthur 2: On the Rocks with Dudley Moore, That's Life! with Jack Lemmon, Love Hurts with Jeff Daniels, Possums with Mac Davis, and Henry Jaglom's Going Shopping. Her husband Bud Yorkin, whom she married on June 24, 1989, directed her in both Arthur 2: On the Rocks and the 1990 film Love Hurts. The two met in 1985 and had two children, Jessica and Michael. Bud died on August 18, 2015, after a period of declining health.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton appointed Sikes Yorkin to the Advisory Committee for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed her California State Commissioner for the California Service Corps, and she founded Team Safe-T, an emergency preparedness curriculum for K-12 schools. She later joined the UCLA School of Public Health Dean's Advisory Board, working alongside Cindy Horn and Dean Dr. Linda Rosenstock to raise funds for a global bio lab on campus.

In 2005, she and Bud Yorkin began working to revive the Blade Runner franchise as producing partners, acquiring the final rights from Bud's former partner Jerry Perenchio in 2010 and partnering with Alcon Entertainment that same year. Sikes Yorkin produced Blade Runner 2049, directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, overseeing the project from development through completion following her husband's death. The film received five Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Visual Effects and Best Cinematography, the latter award going to Roger Deakins.