February 3, 2017 (Jackson, Miss.) - Actress of 30 years, speaker and author Mrs. Nancy Stafford is the special guest speaker for Belhaven University's chapel on February 14, 2017. Most know her as Andy Griffith's law partner on the TV series Matlock.
She has starred in numerous movies and six TV series, including five years on Matlock and three years on the Emmy-award winning St. Elsewhere. She starred in the ABC series Sidekicks, and began her television acting career as a regular on the NBC daytime-drama, The Doctors.
Stafford has guest-starred on numerous shows including The Mentalist, Judging Amy and ER, starred in several TV movies, including A Child Too Many and Deadly Invasion and co-starred with Randy Travis in the feature film, The Wager. She has also been the 'voice' in numerous projects - from Mattel video games to PBS documentaries.
She is the author of two books published by Random House/Multnomah, Beauty by the Book: Seeing Yourself as God Sees You, now in its seventh printing, and The Wonder of His Love: A Journey into the Heart of God. A popular speaker, Stafford travels extensively, sharing with women's groups, colleges, churches, corporations and other organizations.
Stafford has hosted numerous TV series, including the first season of Love, Marriage, and Stinking Thinking with Mark Gungor, and for 10 years she hosted Main Floor, the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle series that aired in over 40 countries around the world. A former Miss Florida in the Miss America Pageant, she is a native of Ft. Lauderdale and a journalism graduate of the University of Florida. In New York she became a top model with the Ford Model Agency and appeared in over 250 commercials before beginning her acting career.
Off the screen, Stafford serves on the US Board of SAT-7, a Christian satellite television network with all indigenous programming produced by and for Christians living in the Middle East and North Africa. Each week 15 million people watch SAT-7, broadcasting on four channels in Arabic, Turkish and Farsi languages.
She serves on the Biola University Studio Task Force, a network of entertainment industry professionals investing in the next generation of writers, directors, producers, actors and below-the-line technicians. She also serves on The Dove Foundation Advisory Board and is a frequent speaker and faculty member at media events and performing arts schools nationwide.
Her husband, Larry Myers, a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, has been a pastor and worship leader since 1975 when he helped establish the original Vineyard Christian Fellowship, and has helped plant three other churches in the Los Angeles area.