Beverly D'Angelo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Beverly D'Angelo
D'Angelo in 2012
Born	Beverly Heather D'Angelo (1951-11-15) November 15, 1951 (age 73) Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1976–present
Spouse(s)	Don Lorenzo Salviati ​ ​ (m. 1981; div. 1995)​
Partner(s)	Anton Furst (1991) Al Pacino (1997–2003)
Children	2
Relatives	Howard Dwight Smith (grandfather)

Beverly Heather D'Angelo (born November 15, 1951) is a talented American actress. She is best known for playing Ellen Griswold in the popular National Lampoon's Vacation movies. These films were released between 1983 and 2015.

Beverly D'Angelo has acted in over 60 films. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role as Patsy Cline in the movie Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). She also received an Emmy Award nomination for her part as Stella Kowalski in the TV film A Streetcar Named Desire (1984). Some of her other well-known roles include Sheila Franklin in Hair (1979) and Doris Vinyard in American History X (1998).

Early Life and Family Background

Beverly D'Angelo was born in Columbus, Ohio. Her mother, Priscilla Ruth Smith, was a violinist. Her father, Eugene Constantino "Gene" D'Angelo Jr., played the bass and managed a television station.

Beverly's father had Italian roots. His parents, Eugenio and Rosina D'Angelo, came from a region in Italy called Abruzzo. Beverly has three brothers: Jeff, Tim, and Tony. Her mother's father, Howard Dwight Smith, was a famous architect. He designed the Ohio Stadium, which is often called "the Horseshoe," at Ohio State University.

Education and Early Work

Beverly D'Angelo went to Upper Arlington High School in Ohio. This school is in a suburb of Columbus. In 2009, she received an award from the Upper Arlington Alumni Association. This award recognized her achievements in her acting career.

Before becoming an actress, D'Angelo worked as an illustrator at Hanna-Barbera Studios. She also sang. For a while, she lived in Canada and was a backup singer for Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins' band, The Hawks. This group later became the legendary band, The Band.

Beverly D'Angelo's Acting Career

Beverly D'Angelo started her acting journey in the theater. In 1976, she appeared on Broadway in a musical called Rockabye Hamlet. She also made her first TV appearance in the mini-series Captains and the Kings that same year.

Early Film Success

After a small role in Annie Hall in 1977, D'Angelo starred in several popular films in the late 1970s. These included Every Which Way but Loose, Hair, and Coal Miner's Daughter. For her role as Patsy Cline in Coal Miner's Daughter, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. She also won a Country Music Association award for Album of the Year.

The Vacation Film Series

Her most famous role came in 1983. She starred with Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Vacation as Ellen Griswold. She played this character again in four more Vacation movies: National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), Vegas Vacation (1997), and Vacation (2015). She also appeared in the 2010 short film Hotel Hell Vacation.

Other Notable Roles

In the 1980s, D'Angelo acted in many other comedies like Maid to Order (1987) and High Spirits (1988). In the mid-1990s, she mainly worked on independent films. In 1994, she returned to the stage and won an award for her performance in the play Simpatico. In 1998, she played Doris Vinyard in the drama American History X.

She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role as Stella Kowalski in the 1984 TV film A Streetcar Named Desire. She also had main roles in several TV movies. These included Slow Burn (1986) and Judgment Day: The John List Story (1993).

In the 2000s, D'Angelo had a recurring role as defense attorney Rebecca Balthus on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She also did voice acting. In 1992, she voiced Lurleen Lumpkin, a country singer, in an episode of The Simpsons. She returned to voice the same character in 2008 and again in 2025.

D'Angelo in 2012

From 2005 to 2011, D'Angelo appeared in the HBO series Entourage as agent Barbara "Babs" Miller. In 2008, she had roles in Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and The House Bunny. In 2014, she was cast with Chevy Chase in a TV pilot about a retired couple raising their grandchildren. More recently, she has appeared in TV series like Mom and Shooter. In 2022, she played Gertrude in the Christmas action comedy Violent Night.

Beverly D'Angelo also narrates a short film about Patsy Cline. This film is shown to visitors at The Patsy Cline Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. The museum opened in 2017.

Personal Life

Beverly D'Angelo was in a relationship with Miloš Forman, who directed her in Hair. In 1981, she married Don Lorenzo Salviati from Italy.

Later, she was in a relationship with Anton Furst, a production designer. She was also in a relationship with actor Al Pacino from 1997 to 2003. They had twins, a son and a daughter, born on January 25, 2001.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Film Roles

Television Series Roles

See also

In Spanish: Beverly D'Angelo para niños