Gilliland appeared as J.D. Shackelford on fan-favorite show Designing Women in 1986, taking on the role as the boyfriend of Annie Potts' character, interior designer and divorcée Mary Jo Shively (via Designing Women Online). Starring in the lighthearted sitcom, Gilliland soon had eyes for a very specific co-star: Jean Smart, who starred as Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the show.
As Smart described to EW in 2017, "I met him when he was kissing someone else." According to People, Smart found out Gilliland was single from cast member Delta Burke, and the rest was history. Getting married in June 1987, the power couple went on to conquer TV screens across the U.S., working together on 24 as Captain Stan Cotter and First Lady Martha Logan, plus TV moves like Just My Imagination and Audrey's Rain.
Planning to act alongside his wife in another movie this summer (via People), Gilliland kept working throughout the past decade in shows like Dexter, Desperate Housewives, Scandal, and CSI. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Gilliland accumulated a net worth of $4 million from his countless roles throughout the decades, with his wife Smart also citing a net worth of $4 million. As an actor who also took on stage plays like Little Egypt and Amadeus (via EW), Gilliland made an impressive net worth while always dedicated to his passion.
