- Born
- Birth nameAdrienne Jo Barbeau
- Nickname
- The Scream Queen
- Height5′ 2″ (1.57 m)
- Adrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and author best known for her roles on the sitcom Maude (1972) and in horror films, especially those directed by John Carpenter, with whom she was once married. She was born on June 11, 1945 in Sacramento, California, the daughter of an executive for Mobil Oil Company. Early on in her career, she starred in Someone's Watching Me! (1978), The Fog (1980) and Escape from New York (1981), all John Carpenter-related projects. She has collaborated with George A. Romero on occasion, such as Stephen King's anthology Creepshow (1982) and Two Evil Eyes (1990). Her work with other horror directors includes Wes Craven's superhero monster movie Swamp Thing (1982). During the 1990s, she became best known for providing the voice of Catwoman on Batman: The Animated Series (1992). She was the original tough-girl Betty Rizzo in the first Broadway production of "Grease". She is the author of the memoir "There Are Worse Things I Can Do" (2006), and the comedy romance vampire novels "Vampyres of Hollywood" (2008), "Love Bites" (2010) and "Make Me Dead" (2015).- IMDb mini biography by: Matt Lee-Williams
- SpousesBilly Van Zandt(December 31, 1992 - 2018) (divorced, 2 children)John Carpenter(January 1, 1979 - September 14, 1984) (divorced, 1 child)
- ChildrenWilliam Dalton Van ZandtWalker Steven Van Zandt
- ParentsJoseph BarbeauArmene Nalbandian
- RelativesRobert Barbeau(Half Sibling)Jocelyn Barbeau(Sibling)
- The voice of Catwoman on Batman: The Animated Series
- Often cast by her ex-husband John Carpenter
- Natural brunette hair
- Her enormous breasts
- Seductive deep voice
- 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.
- 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 ex-husband, Billy Van Zandt.
- In 1978, a poster of Adrienne Barbeau wearing a tight purple corset was a bestseller. The poster's image later served as a cover photo for her autobiography.
- Her roles in the horror film The Fog (1980) and Escape from New York (1981) were written specifically with her in mind.
- Nominated for a 1972 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Musical) for her portrayal of bad-girl Betty Rizzo in the original Broadway production of "Grease".
- Who knew at the time? It's the same as my horror films. It's wonderful at this point in my career to realize there are pieces of work that have sustained themselves all this time. I'll run into people who say, "We watch Swamp Thing (1982) once a month!".
- [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.
- I'm realizing that a soap offers so many opportunities for a woman my age. At this stage in my career, the roles that are available tend to be the judge or the doctor or somebody's mother - that's what happens when you're the guest star of the week. But GH reminds me in a way of Carnivale, where we never knew what was coming next and it was always exciting and fascinating. There's a lot of meat on this soap!
- [In describing Bea Arthur as a private lady, in real-life]: She wasn't interested in the notoriety. She wasn't interested in celebrity. She was interested in making people laugh and doing good work.
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