Adrienne Barbeau Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
Adrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical Grease, and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter of Maude Findlay in the sitcom Maude. In the early 1980s, Barbeau...
Billy Van Zandt (m. 1992), John Carpenter (m. 1979–1984)
Children
Cody Carpenter, William Dalton Van Zandt, Walker Steven Van Zandt
Parents
Joseph Barbeau, Armene Nalbandian
Siblings
Robert Barbeau, Jocelyn Barbeau
Nicknames
Adrienne Jo Barbeau
Nominations
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture Made for Television, Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Drama Series
Movies
Swamp Thing, The Fog, Escape from New York, Creepshow, The Cannonball Run, Two Evil Eyes, Argo, Back to School, Someone's Watching Me!, The Convent, Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death, Fly Me to the Moon, Father Hood, Bridge Across Time, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Reach for Me, A Wake i...
TV Shows
Carnivàle, Gotham Girls, Maude
Star Sign
Gemini
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Trademark
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Seductive deep voice
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Voluptuous figure
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Large brown eyes
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Natural brunette hair
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The voice of Catwoman on Batman: The Animated Series
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Quote
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[on how the horror genre has changed over the years]: I sense, from reading scripts for roles I'm offered -- most of which are plotless and illogical and nothing more than an excuse to show blood and gore -- that the artistry that colored the genre twenty or thirty years ago has pretty much succumbed to slashers' knives. It's a different kind of horror, that's for sure.
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[on horror films]: I love doing them -- well, the suspenseful, tense, well-written ones; not the slasher, senseless violence, let's get as much blood on the screen as possible ones -- but I don't enjoy watching them. So I can't speak to what sets The Fog (1980) apart from the other films of that era, but I do think that one of the reasons The Fog (1980) is so successful is that John [John Carpenter] wrote fully realized, quirky characters that the audience cares about and identifies with. People remember Stevie Wayne. They love her voice, they love the lighthouse where she works, and they love her heroism.
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[from her memoir "There Are Worst Things I Could Do" (2006)]: It's not easy, though, singing upside down in a headstand on a raised platform with your unfettered breasts hitting you in the chin. I'm a short woman with a pretty good body and large breasts - that's not what I think of as sexy.
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[Of Bea Arthur]: I don't think Bea understood just how loud her voice could be. During intermission, we met in the center aisle, right down by the stage. And she said, "Adrienne, this is the worst piece of shit I've ever seen! I'd leave, but they're all my friends!".
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[on her on- and off-screen chemistry with Bea Arthur, who played Maude Findlay]: She was fantastic. She is fantastic... It was a great experience, all six years. Wonderful people to work with and something to be so incredibly proud of, which I took for granted at the time because I came from stage, so I didn't know television at all. I didn't even know what was on. I didn't know Norman Lear's reputation or anything like that. It took me awhile to realize that I had fallen into such a fantastic work situation. And most of that was because of Bea - because she's such a professional, such a great woman to work with. We had a great time.
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[on the death of Bea Arthur in 2009]: I loved her dearly, and I think she loved me.
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[When she started out as a talented actress years before General Hospital (1963)]: I just had my first sighting. I was in a department store, and a woman came up to me and said, "Excuse me, can you tell me where General Hospital films?".
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[If her own fans from Maude (1972) were everywhere]: I think General Hospital (1963) is probably reaching new people for me, plus people who grew up watching Maude. I have so many people come up to me when I'm at an autograph signing; I have a picture of Bea and Rue McClanahan from Maude. People say, "Oh, I didn't know you were on The Golden Girls (1985).".
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[on her role on Maude (1972)]: If the producers needed information in a scene, my character was the one to do it. What I didn't know is that when I said those things, I was usually walking down a flight of stairs and no one was even listening to me. They were just watching my breasts precede me.
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[In describing Bea Arthur as a private lady, in real-life]: She wasn't interested in the notoriety. She wasn't interested in celebrity. She was interested in making people laugh and doing good work.
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I'm realizing that a soap offers so many opportunities for a woman my age. At this stage in my career, the roles that are available tend to be the judge or the doctor or somebody's mother - that's what happens when you're the guest star of the week. But General Hospital reminds me in a way of Carnivale, where we never knew what was coming next and it was always exciting and fascinating. There's a lot of meat on this soap!
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[on the horror remake The Fog (2005)]: I have not seen it and I have no desire to see it, either.
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[on her role in The Cannonball Run (1981)]: All the talent I needed was in my breastbone.
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Who knew at the time? It's the same as my horror films. It's wonderful at this point in my career to realize there are pieces of work that have sustained themselves all this time. I'll run into people who say, "We watch Swamp Thing (1982) once a month!".
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Fact
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Credits Bea Arthur as her favorite acting mentor/best friend.
Revealed that she had a wonderful working relationship with Bea Arthur on Maude (1972).
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Her acting mentor and former series' lead, Bea Arthur, passed away on April 25, 2009, at age 86. (Bea nearly celebrated her 87th birthday, 2 weeks prior, had she lived, but passed away, before this.).
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Attended and graduated from Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California.
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Attended and graduated from Del Mar High School in San Jose, California.
Her memoir, "There Are Worse Things I Could Do", went to #11 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list.
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Her role in the horror remake Halloween (2007) was ultimately cut from the final finished film, but was included on the DVD Special Edition.
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The winner of The Cannonball Run (1981), she also won the heart of her co-star, Burt Reynolds, who was then at the height of his popularity.
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Returned to the New York stage for first time in 34 years to portray Judy Garland in "The Property Known as Garland" written by her husband, playwright Billy Van Zandt.
Her nude scene in Swamp Thing (1982) was intended only for European release but eventually made its way onto an American DVD of the movie -- until a Texas housewife complained of her sons' inadvertently viewing nudity in a PG-rated movie, at which point the DVD was recalled.
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Won the prestigious Theater Guild Award for her portrayal of Betty Rizzo in the original Broadway production of "Grease".
Her roles in the horror film The Fog (1980) and Escape from New York (1981) were written specifically with her in mind.
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Nominated for a 1972 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Musical) for her portrayal of bad-girl Betty Rizzo in the original Broadway production of "Grease".
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In 1978, a poster of Adrienne Barbeau wearing a tight purple corset was a bestseller. The poster's image later served as a cover photo for her autobiography.
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Worked as a New York City go-go dancer in a Mafia-run nightclub from 1964-1967 while breaking in on Broadway. She quit after the owner decided to turn the place into a bikini bar.
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Her father was of three quarters German ancestry, with his other roots being French-Canadian and Irish. Her mother was of Armenian ancestry.
At age 51, she gave birth to identical twin boys, Walker Steven and William Dalton Van Zandt, on March 17, 1997. Their father is her husband, Billy Van Zandt.
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Made her Broadway debut in "Fiddler on the Roof" in 1968, where she met another young, up-and-coming actress named Bette Midler. "I guess I adopted some of her enthusiasm and hopefully her street smarts," said Barbeau.
$5 Million
