Adrienne Barbeau

Birthday: 11 June 1945, Sacramento, California, USA

Birth Name: Adrienne Jo Barbeau

Height: 161 cm

Adrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and author best known for her roles on the TV series 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. Early on in her career, she starred in Someone's Watching Me! (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981) and Swamp Thing (1982), all John Carpenter-related projects. She has collaborated with George A. Romero on occasion, such as the Stephen King-scripted Creepshow (1982) and Due occhi diabolici (1990). Her work with other horror directors includes the Wes Craven comic book monster movie Swamp Thing (1982). During the 1990s, she became best known for providing the voice of Catwoman on Batman: The Animated Series (1992). Show less «

[on the death of Bea Arthur in 2009]: I loved her dearly, and I think she loved me.

I'm realizing that a soap offers so many opportunities for a woman my age. At this stage in my caree...Show more »

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 General Hospital 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! Show less «

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

[In describing Bea Arthur as a private lady, in real-life]: She wasn't interested in the notoriety. ...Show more »

[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. Show less «

[Of Bea Arthur]: I don't think Bea understood just how loud her voice could be. During intermission,...Show more »

[Of Bea Arthur]: I don't think Bea understood just how loud her voice could be. During intermission, we met in the center aisle, right down by the stage. And she said, "Adrienne, this is the worst piece of shit I've ever seen! I'd leave, but they're all my friends!". Show less «

Who knew at the time? It's the same as my horror films. It's wonderful at this point in my career to...Show more »

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!". Show less «

[on horror films]: I love doing them -- well, the suspenseful, tense, well-written ones; not the sla...Show more »

[on horror films]: I love doing them -- well, the suspenseful, tense, well-written ones; not the slasher, senseless violence, let's get as much blood on the screen as possible ones -- but I don't enjoy watching them. So I can't speak to what sets The Fog (1980) apart from the other films of that era, but I do think that one of the reasons The Fog (1980) is so successful is that John [John Carpenter] wrote fully realized, quirky characters that the audience cares about and identifies with. People remember Stevie Wayne. They love her voice, they love the lighthouse where she works, and they love her heroism. Show less «

[on her on- and off-screen chemistry with Bea Arthur, who played Maude Findlay]: She was fantastic. ...Show more »

[on her on- and off-screen chemistry with Bea Arthur, who played Maude Findlay]: She was fantastic. She is fantastic... It was a great experience, all six years. Wonderful people to work with and something to be so incredibly proud of, which I took for granted at the time because I came from stage, so I didn't know television at all. I didn't even know what was on. I didn't know Norman Lear's reputation or anything like that. It took me awhile to realize that I had fallen into such a fantastic work situation. And most of that was because of Bea - because she's such a professional, such a great woman to work with. We had a great time. Show less «

[When she started out as a talented actress years before General Hospital (1963)]: I just had my fir...Show more »

[When she started out as a talented actress years before General Hospital (1963)]: I just had my first sighting. I was in a department store, and a woman came up to me and said, "Excuse me, can you tell me where General Hospital films?". Show less «

[from her memoir "There Are Worst Things I Could Do" (2006)]: It's not easy, though, singing upside ...Show more »

[from her memoir "There Are Worst Things I Could Do" (2006)]: It's not easy, though, singing upside down in a headstand on a raised platform with your unfettered breasts hitting you in the chin. I'm a short woman with a pretty good body and large breasts - that's not what I think of as sexy. Show less «

[on how the horror genre has changed over the years]: I sense, from reading scripts for roles I'm of...Show more »

[on how the horror genre has changed over the years]: I sense, from reading scripts for roles I'm offered -- most of which are plotless and illogical and nothing more than an excuse to show blood and gore -- that the artistry that colored the genre twenty or thirty years ago has pretty much succumbed to slashers' knives. It's a different kind of horror, that's for sure. Show less «

[If her own fans from Maude (1972) were everywhere]: I think General Hospital (1963) is probably rea...Show more »

[If her own fans from Maude (1972) were everywhere]: I think General Hospital (1963) is probably reaching new people for me, plus people who grew up watching Maude. I have so many people come up to me when I'm at an autograph signing; I have a picture of Bea and Rue McClanahan from Maude. People say, "Oh, I didn't know you were on The Golden Girls (1985).". Show less «

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

[on her role on Maude (1972)]: If the producers needed information in a scene, my character was the ...Show more »

[on 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. Show less «

Adrienne Barbeau

Adrienne Barbeau's FILMOGRAPHY

Adrienne Barbeau'S roles

Feedback about this page?