Looking back at lesbian characters in films (yes, there are some) do you ever think to yourself, “What happened to her? I wonder what she’s up to up to these days?” Well we are here to help. If there is anyone you particularly want us to cover, just ask and it shall be done.

This time it’s all about Desert Hearts. Why? Well, because it was the first lesbian film I ever saw and it stands the test of time. Great acting, a good story and a fab sex scene all add up to one of the best lesbian films there is.

Made for thruppence-ha’penny back in 1985, this film was a revelation in Hollywood. Who knew that a lesbian film could be a success and make money? That Desert Hearts did, opened money-grabbing eyes and enabled lesbian and gay-themed films to get greenlit when it would have been unheard of up to this point.

Twenty years or so later, where are the actresses who played Cay and Vivienne?

Helen Shaver – Canadian actress, Shaver has done it all in her 30 years of acting. She was 34 when she landed the part of Vivienne (left), the uptight English professor who falls for Cay in Desert Hearts. Her performance won her fans and accolades all over the world but one stands out – a phone call from none other than Greta Garbo, praising her performance.

Since then she has acted in and directed for films, television episodes and theatre. Lesbians of a certain age squealed for joy when she showed up on The L Word as Faye Buckley, the lesbian-hating, pseudo-Christian who organised the protest against Bette’s Provocations exhibition in season 2. She obviously loved playing the evil bitch, and looked damn good doing it.

Patricia Charbonneau- In Desert Hearts Cay (right) struts her way into Vivenne’s heart and steals it with her honesty and vulnerability. Who can forget her cry of “Being with you is starting to hurt”? Sigh.

Since hanging up her spangly shirts, Patricia has done a lot of acting in small roles for films but is it her theatre work that sets her apart. After spending 20 years treading the boards, she decided to dedicate her time to bringing theatre to children and young people. So for years now she has taught workshops for schools in the Santa Monica area as well as in The American Film Institute children’s division and the Addison Witt Studios in Los Angeles. Go girl!

There have been whispers in the air for a while now that there could be a sequel of Desert Hearts in the works. AfterEllen.com spoke to Donna Deitch, the film’s director who said:

I’m a little reluctant to talk about the story and the setting, because when you’re in the middle of writing something like that, it’s kind of hard to talk about it ’cause you’re not quite certain, you know.

It’s going to be some time later, and it’s going to not only be about these characters, it’s going to expand into new characters as well. I envision actually more than one Desert Hearts sequel, ’cause I’m thinking about making several of them. Since this one was in the late ’50s, I have some room to move around here, right? And I think it’s time for me to get off my day job and get on with doing this, because I can see several sequels, and then I can see sort of a sci-fi [one].

Desert Hearts in space? Hmmm…..

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