>>I didn't know that. I thought heir was used generally -- like actor. A person can be an actor and be male or female, even though there is also the word actress.
>>
>
>and that is bad! the actor Pat Adams....
>am I talking about a male of female person????

Does it matter? Assuming that whomever you're speaking to also knows about the actor.

There also the fact that you wouldn't refer to said actor only by their name. You'd tend to say things like "Have you seen "MovieName" with Pat Adams? She plays the lead"