Michele Lee Goes 'Scandalous'

Valley of the Dolls is one of the top 10 best-selling novels of all time. CBS This Morning Co-Anchor Mark McEwen reports that its author, Jacqueline Susann, led a life that was just as exciting as the characters she wrote about. Now, former Knots Landing star Michele Lee portrays the controversial author in Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story.

"There was something so valiant about what she did, and how she sold her books, and going out on tour, and feeling a responsibility to the people who trusted her," says Lee, who adds that Susann had a gift for sales and marketing.

Susann made no secret of the fact that her books depicted the dark side of fame and fortune. One of Lee's lines in Scandalous Me: "The rich and powerful women in my book are not happy. I make them miserable. I make them suffer so my readers can go back to their tract houses, screaming kids and Volkswagens and feel lucky."

Lee, 56, says Susann was a pioneer, in a way.

"She marketed herself the way a Madonna, or a Barbra Streisand, or a Rosie [O'Donnell], or an Oprah [Winfrey] would today," explains the actress. "She was bright enoughÂ…to figure it out."

Lee has proved to be pretty bright herself. She not only stars in Scandalous Me but is one of its executive producers. She has taken diverse positions in other made-for-TV movies including Color Me Perfect (1996), as star, producer, writer, and director; the Emmy-nominated Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story (1995), as star and producer; and Single Women, Married Men (1989), as star and producer.

The theme of the movie is one Lee thinks everyone can relate to: "We all have a reason why we want to be who we want to be, and it's how we get there and how we want to use our life."

Lee, best known for her role on Knots Landing, in which she played Karen MacKenzie for 14 seasons, does not rule out another reunion for that series. She says, "I received my star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. All my friends from Knots Landing were there. I said, 'Well, we're always here for each other,' so I think [a reunion show] is something we can all look forward to."

Michele Lee (CBS)

A few days after her high school graduation she got a part in a local musical revue, Vintage '60, which prodcer David Merrick moved to Broadway for a brief run. Lee got another Broadway break shortly thereafter, landing a lead role in Bravo Giovanni.

She made her film debut in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) and went on to star in the Disney classic The Love Bug (1968). Her other film credits include The Comic (1969) and Nutcracker Fantasy (1979).

In 1973, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway musical Seesaw.

Lee is a co-founder of the Entertainment Industries Council, whose mission is to deglamorize and dehumorize the depiction of alcohol and drug use in movies and television. She is also a member of the Artists Committee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Lee, who is married to TV producer Fred Rappaport, has a son, David Farentino, by her former husband, actor James Farentino, who also appears in Scandalous Me. The movie premiered on the USA cable network Dec. 9.