Adrienne Barbeau Biography

Date of Birth
11 June 1945, Sacramento, California, USA

Birth Name
Adrienne Jo Barbeau

Height
5' 3½" (1.61 m)

Spouse
Billy Van Zandt (31 December 1992 - present) 2 children
John Carpenter (1 January 1979 - 1984) (divorced) 1 child

Trade Mark

Her big bust.

Trivia

Attended Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, California.

Made her Broadway debut in Fiddler on the Roof (1971) 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.

Gave birth to twin boys, Walker and William. [March 1997]

Has son, Cody. Father John Carpenter

Is of French and 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 wearing a tight purple corset was a best-seller. The poster's image later served as a cover photo for her autobiography.

Nominated for a 1972 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Musical) for her portrayal of bad-girl Rizzo in the original Broadway production of "Grease".

Her roles in The Fog (1980) and Escape from New York (1981) were written specifically with her in mind.

Was portrayed by Bridget Jones in an episode of the cult TV series "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (1988).

Won the prestigious Theater Guild Award for her portrayal of Rizzo in the original Broadway production of "Grease."

Mother is of Armenian ancestry.

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.

Bust: 34DD.

Sister-in-law of musician and actor Steve Van Zandt.

Returned to NY stage for first time in 34 years to portray Judy Garland in "The Property Known as Garland" written by husband playwright Billy Van Zandt

The winner of the The Cannonball Run (1981), she also won the heart of her co-start, Burt Reynolds, who was then at the height of his popularity.

In her film the "The Fog," the two leads, Adrienne Barbeau and Jamie Lee Curtis, do not appear in any scenes together.

Her role in Halloween (2007), was ultimately cut from the final finished film.

Her memoir, "There Are Worse Things I Can Do," went to #11 on the Los Angeles Times Best-seller list.

Personal Quotes

About 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."

[on her role in The Cannonball Run (1981)] "All the talent I needed was in my breastbone."

[on the remake of The Fog (2005)] "I have not seen it and I have no desire to see it, either."

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