Shepard's family moved to
Switzerland when she was four years old, where she grew up in
Basel,
Bern and
Zürich. She attended
drama school in Zürich, graduating in 1986. She gained stage experience at the
Staatstheater Stuttgart and the
Nationaltheater Mannheim. In 1990, she moved to the
Lake Constance area, where she oriented herself more towards film and television. She moved to
Leipzig in 2007, where she still lives. In 1997, she played her first major role in a television series, appearing in 80
episodes of
Hinter Gittern – Der Frauenknast, playing Susanne Teubner, a character who killed her husband in a
crime of passion. From 2003 to 2015, she played
plastic surgeon and
urologist Dr Elena Eichhorn in
In aller Freundschaft. Following that, she struggled to find new roles and filed for
bankruptcy. On 31 July 2015, she opened a
café, ''Cheryl's Café
, in Leipzig, but she had already closed the business by April 2016. Between May 2016 and April 2017, she played a leading role in the 13th season of telenovela Rote Rosen'' ("Red Roses"). She supports causes advocating cultural awareness and is an active member of the charity
Hand in Hand International e.V. – Verein für Begegnung und Zusammenarbeit. Shepard has been married to German actor Nikolaus Okonkwo since 2006. They have a biological son and two adopted children. She also has two adult daughters from her first marriage. == Selected filmography ==