Tag Archives: American actress

Lindsay Wagner: Television’s Movie Queen

Born on June 22, 1949, in Los Angeles, California, Lindsay Jean Ball’s parents divorced when she was seven years of age. As a teenager, she lived in Portland, Oregon, and attended David Douglas High School. She began to study dance (ballet and jazz) at the age of thirteen, and when her mentor suggested that she study acting, she promptly followed through on the advice. She became a model first however, and although successful, grew to hate it. Her acting career began in the 1970s with guest appearances on television shows such as “Night Gallery” (1970) and “Marcus Welby, MD” (1969). … Continue reading →

Melissa Gilbert: Child Star Shining Bright

Born on May 8, 1964, in Los Angeles, California to a Jewish family, Melissa Ellen Gilbert, also known as Missy, was adopted by actor, Paul Gilbert and his wife, Barbara. She has a brother and a sister, both of whom were also adopted. When she was eight years of age, her adoptive parents divorced and when she was eleven, Paul Gilbert died. She was a child star and one of five hundred young girls who auditioned for the part of Laurra Ingalls Wilder for the television series, “Little House on the Prairie.” Her screen test was the only one sent … Continue reading →

Goldie Hawn: Blonde Understatement

Born the daughter of a musician on November 21, 1945, in Washington, DC, Hawn grew up in suburban Maryland. She began dance lessons at the tender age of three, and by the age of seventeen, was managing a dance studio while studying drama at American University. She danced professionally at the New York World’s Fair (Texas pavilion) in 1964 and went on to appear in the chorus lines of Broadway musical productions such as “Kiss Me Kate”, “Guys and Dolls” and “The Boyfriend.” Goldie moved to California and her big break came when an agent spotted her dancing on the … Continue reading →

Terri Garr: An Actress of Note

Born into show business on December 11, 1949, in Lakewood, Ohio, Terri Garr is the daughter of Eddie Garr, a Broadway stage and film actor who died when she was eleven years of age and Phyllis Garr, a dancer. As an infant, the family lived in Hollywood, but moved to New Jersey. After the death of her father, the family returned to Hollywood where her mother got a job as a wardrobe mistress for movies and television. Terri began her career as a dancer when she was only thirteen, and can be viewed as such in nine Elvis Presley movies. … Continue reading →

Diane Keaton: Reluctant Star

Diane Hall was born on January 5, 1946, in Los Angeles, California. She is the eldest of four children of Jack Hall, a civil engineer and Dorothy Keaton, homemaker and amateur photographer. Her father’s family was Irish American Catholic and her mother’s background was Methodist. Her earliest desire to become an actor occurred when she was a young girl and her she saw her mother participate in a “Mrs. Los Angeles” pageant for homemakers. Katherine Hepburn and her portrayal of strong and independent women was also an early inspiration. Diane graduated Santa Ana High School in 1964, and while there … Continue reading →

Jennifer Lopez: Bronx Star Shining Bright

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born in the Castle Hill section of the South Bronx, New York, on July 24, 1969. Her father, David, is a computer specialist, her mother, Guadalupe, a kindergarten teacher. She is the middle of three musically inclined daughters, and her parents were born in Puerto Rico but did not meet until both came to America. Jennifer’s paternal grandparents were Europeans who settled on the island of Puerto Rico. Her parents infused a work ethic in all their children very early in their lives and Jennifer began taking singing and dancing lessons from the tender age of … Continue reading →

Liza Minelli: A Rise Above

Liza Minelli once said: “reality is something you must rise above.” For the daughter of the late Judy Garland and Vincent Minelli who was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 12, 1946, this phrase could not reflect more truth. Named after Ira Gershwin’s song, “Liza (All The Clouds’ll Roll Away)”, she was practically raised at the MGM studio where her parents worked, and she made her debut at the tender age of 14 months in the musical “In the Good Old Summertime” (1949). In 1951, her world came crashing down when her parents divorced and her mother quickly remarried … Continue reading →

Patty Duke: Star Still Shining Bright

Anna Maria Duke was born on December 14, 1946 in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. Her father, John P. Duke, was Irish-American and her mother, Frances Mac Mahon, was Irish and German. Her father was an alcoholic and her mother who suffered from mental illness, was prone to violence. At the age of eight, Anna Maria was turned over to John and Ethel Ross who recognized her talent and promoted her as a child actress. But they were unscrupulous people who padded her resume with false credits and billed her as two years younger than she was. They were ultimately not … Continue reading →

Heather Locklear: Quiet Talent and Beauty

Heather Deen Locklear was born on September 25, 1961, in Westwood, California, the youngest of four children of Bill and Diane Locklear. She has two sisters, Laurie and Colleen, and a brother, Mark. Her ancestry is mostly Scottish, but she has Lumbee Native American roots on her father’s side. (The surname Locklear is quite common among the Lumbee.) Her father was the dean of the School of Engineering at UCLA and after graduation from Newbury Park High School (where, believe it or not, she was rejected by the cheerleading squad) she herself attended UCLA. It was while she was attending … Continue reading →