Adrienne Barbeau facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Adrienne Barbeau
Barbeau in June 2011
Born	Adrienne Jo Barbeau (1945-06-11) June 11, 1945 (age 80) Sacramento, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Foothill College
Occupation	Actress author
Years active	1968–present
Known for	Grease Maude The Fog Escape from New York Swamp Thing The Cannonball Run Creepshow General Hospital
Spouse(s)	John Carpenter ​ ​ (m. 1979; div. 1984)​ Billy Van Zandt ​ ​ (m. 1992; div. 2018)​
Children	3, including Cody Carpenter

Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress and author. She became well-known in the 1970s. She played the original Rizzo in the Broadway musical Grease. She also starred as Carol Traynor, the daughter of Maude Findlay, in the TV comedy series Maude (1972–1978).

In the 1980s, Adrienne Barbeau started acting in horror and science fiction movies. Some of these include The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), Creepshow (1982), and Swamp Thing (1982). She also provided the voice of Catwoman in the DC Animated Universe cartoons. Later, in the 2000s, she appeared in the HBO series Carnivàle (2003–2005) as Ruthie.

Early Life and First Steps in Acting

Adrienne Barbeau was born on June 11, 1945, in Sacramento, California. Her mother, Armene, was of Armenian background. Her father, Joseph, had French Canadian, Irish, and German roots. He worked in public relations for Mobil Oil. Adrienne has a sister named Jocelyn. She also has a half-brother, Robert.

She went to Del Mar High School in San Jose, California. After finishing high school in 1963, she joined Foothill College. However, she left college at age 19. She wanted to join a USO Tour with the San Jose Light Opera. A USO Tour is when entertainers perform for military troops. Adrienne said that performing for troops in Southeast Asia made her love show business.

Career Highlights

Starting on Broadway

In the late 1960s, Barbeau moved to New York City. She started her Broadway career in the chorus of Fiddler on the Roof. Later, she played Hodel, one of the main character's daughters. The famous singer Bette Midler played her character's sister, Tzeitel. Barbeau left Fiddler in 1971.

She then starred in over 25 musicals and plays. These included Women Behind Bars and Grease. For her role as the tough Rizzo in Grease, she won a Theater World Award. She was also nominated for a Tony Award in 1972.

TV Star and Movie Roles

During the 1970s, Barbeau became famous as Carol Traynor in the comedy series Maude. She played the daughter of Bea Arthur's character. The show ran from 1972 to 1978. Adrienne and Bea Arthur were good friends both on and off screen. They stayed close until Bea Arthur passed away in 2009.

Barbeau also appeared in many TV movies and series. These included The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and Battle of the Network Stars.

Her husband at the time, director John Carpenter, cast her in his horror film, The Fog (1980). This was her first movie in theaters. The film was a big hit, making over $21 million in the United States. This made Barbeau a star in horror and science fiction movies. She then appeared in other films by Carpenter, like Escape from New York (1981). She also starred in Creepshow (1982) and Swamp Thing (1982). She enjoyed working with Carpenter, saying he was a great director.

She also acted in the comedy The Cannonball Run (1981) with Burt Reynolds. She played the wife of Rodney Dangerfield's character in Back to School (1986).

Voice Acting and Recent Work

In the 1990s, Barbeau mostly appeared in TV movies. She also played Oswald's mother on The Drew Carey Show. She gained new fans as the voice of Catwoman in Batman: The Animated Series and Gotham Girls.

She also worked as a TV talk show host. In 1999, she was a guest star in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges". She played Romulan Senator Kimara Cretak.

In 1998, Barbeau released her first music album as a folk singer. It was called Adrienne Barbeau. She also voiced the villain Helga Von Guggen in the cartoon series Totally Spies!.

From 2003 to 2005, she starred in the HBO series Carnivàle. In 2007, she had a small role in Rob Zombie's Halloween. This movie was a new version of the 1978 film directed by her first husband, John Carpenter. Her scene was cut from the movie shown in theaters but is on the DVD.

In 2009, Barbeau played "The Cat Lady" in the family comedy The Dog Who Saved Christmas. She also voiced Scooter's mother in the animated movie Fly Me to the Moon. She had guest roles in the TV series Dexter and Grey's Anatomy.

She voiced the Greek goddess Hera in the video game God of War III in 2010. In August 2010, she joined the TV show General Hospital. She also played Victoria Grayson’s mother on the ABC drama Revenge. In 2014, she returned for the final season of Revenge.

In 2012, she voiced Dr. Tilson in the video game Halo 4. She also voiced characters in the 2015 Mad Max video game. She appeared in the movie Argo (2012). In 2015, she played Berthe in the musical Pippin on tour. In 2021, she voiced Queen Gehenna in the audio series The World to Come.

Personal Life

In 1978, Barbeau met director John Carpenter while working on his TV film Someone's Watching Me!. They got married on January 1, 1979. They had a son, John "Cody" Carpenter, on May 7, 1984. They divorced later that year.

In 1991, Barbeau met actor and writer Billy Van Zandt. They married in 1992. On March 17, 1997, when she was almost 52, Barbeau gave birth to twin boys, Walker Steven and William Dalton Van Zandt. She joked that she was the only one in the maternity ward who was a member of AARP (a group for older people). The couple divorced in 2018.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Adrienne Barbeau para niños