All my life I’ve been a performer – an actress, a singer, a dancer, even a talk show host – but never in the wildest dreams of my first 50 years did I ever imagine I would write something that other people would read. I still can’t quite get over it. Adrienne began her career entertaining our servicemen throughout Southeast Asia. She made her Broadway debut as Tevye’s daughter, Hodel, in Fiddler on the Roof. A Tony nomination and a Theatre World Award for her creation of Rizzo in Grease led to the role of Bea Arthur’s daughter, Carol, in the hit series Maude.Since then she has become a best selling author, a recording artist, and the star of numerous features, films for television, concert performances, musicals and plays.Her films include The Fog, Escape From New York, Creepshow, Swamp Thing, Back to School, and Cannonball Run, the award winning “zombie film” Alice Jacobs is Dead and Oscar's Best Film winner, Argo.With a Golden Globe nomination and over 450 screen performances to her credit, she starred as Ruthie, the Snake Dancer, on HBO’s series, Carnivale. Her recent appearances include Son’s of Anarchy, Dexter, and Revenge.Off camera, Adrienne is the voice of Catwoman in Batman, The Animated Series, and she can be heard in a myriad of video games: God of War and Halo 4 among them.Adrienne is the author of three books: the best-selling memoir There Are Worse Things I Could Do; Vampyres of Hollywood; and the most recent Love Bites.In March of 1997, Adrienne gave birth to identical twin boys, William and Walker Van Zandt, m age 51, “the only woman on the maternity ward who was a member of AARP”. She lives in Los Angeles, but travels to Japan whenever she can to visit her older son, Cody Carpenter.
Made her Broadway debut in "Fiddler on the Roof" , 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.
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.
Has one son with John Carpenter : Cody Carpenter.
Her father was of three quarters German ancestry, with his other roots being French-Canadian and Irish. Her mother was of Armenian ancestry.
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.
In 1978, a poster of Adrienne Barbeau wearing a tight purple corset was a bestseller. The posters image later served as a cover photo for her autobiography.
Nominated for a 1972 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress for her portrayal of bad-girl Betty Rizzo in the original Broadway production of "Grease".
Her roles in the horror film The Fog and Escape from New York were written specifically with her in mind.
Because of her busy scheduling, she missed most of the episodes of the sitcom "Maude" , during the last two seasons.
Won the prestigious Theater Guild Award for her portrayal of bad-girl Betty Rizzo in the original Broadway production of "Grease".
Her nude scene in Swamp Thing 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.
Sister-in-law of musician and actor Steven Van Zandt.
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.
The winner of The Cannonball Run , she also won the heart of her co-star, Burt Reynolds , who was then at the height of his popularity.
Her role in the horror remake Halloween was ultimately deleted from the final finished film, but was included on the DVD Special Edition.
Her memoir, "There Are Worse Things I Could Do", went to #11 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list.
In the horror film The Fog , the two leads, Adrienne Barbeau and Jamie Lee Curtis , do not appear in any scenes together.
Has appeared with Tom Atkins in four films: The Fog , Escape from New York , Creepshow and Due occhi diabolici .
Has appeared in four films directed by her ex-husband John Carpenter : Someones Watching Me! , The Fog , Escape from New York and Swamp Thing .
She was considered for the role of the mythic being Ardra in the fourth season episode "Star Trek: The Next Generation" {Devils Due (#4.13)} , which went to Marta DuBois.
In her autobiography, Barbeau says that she first caught the show business bug while entertaining troops at army bases throughout Southeast Asia, touring with the San Jose Civic Light Opera.
Her acting mentor was Bea Arthur , whom she credits as her favorite acting mentor/best friend. Many years before "Maude" , they performed in the original Broadway production of "Fiddler on the Roof".
Her acting mentor and former series lead, Bea Arthur , passed away on April 25, 2009, two weeks before her 87th birthday.
Revealed that she had a wonderful working relationship with Bea Arthur on "Maude" .
Surrogate daughter of Bea Arthur.
Attended and graduated from Del Mar High School in San Jose, California.
Attended and graduated from Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California.
As an actress, she was highly influenced by Bea Arthur.
[on her role in The Cannonball Run (1981) ]: All the talent I,needed was in my breastbone.
[on the remake The Fog (2005) ]: I have not seen it and I have no,desire to see it, either.
[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?".
I’m a short woman with a pretty good body and large breasts — that’s not what I think of as sexy.
When I see myself on film it makes me smile, I mean making a good living doing what I enjoy is soo much fun. I just hope that everyone has the chance to enjoy life like I do. .
