Priscilla Barnes

Priscilla Barnes
Priscilla Barnes, 2010
Born	(1955-12-07) December 7, 1955 or (1958-12-07) December 7, 1958 Fort Dix, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1977–present
Spouse(s)	Ted Monte
Website	Official site

Priscilla Barnes (born December 7, 1955 or 1958 – sources differ) is an American actress, who may be best-known in her role as Terri Alden on Three's Company, the permanent replacement for Suzanne Somers. She subsequently made appearances in films such as A Vacation in Hell, Licence to Kill, Mallrats, The Devil's Rejects, and the television series Jane the Virgin.

Early life

Barnes was born December 7 (some sources indicate 1955 and others 1958) in Fort Dix, New Jersey, the third of four children of a father who was a Major in the United States Air Force and her mother a homemaker. Her childhood was marked by a series of moves across various military bases in the United States before her family settled in Lancaster, California. After graduating from Antelope Valley High School at age 17, she relocated to San Diego, working as a waitress and a dancer.

Career

Early career

Barnes' first break came when Bob Hope saw her in a local fashion show and invited her to join his troupe for a 1973 performance at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She subsequently moved to Los Angeles to attempt a career in show business in earnest. She appeared as an Amazon in The New Original Wonder Woman alongside Lynda Carter as the title character. Her second break came at 19 when she met Peter Falk at Pips. Six months later he gave her a one-line part in an episode of Columbo, which led to a series of bit parts in films like The Seniors (1978) and Delta Fox (1979).

While working as a hostess at a Hollywood nightclub, Barnes posed nude for the "Pet of the Month" photo layout in the March 1976 issue of Penthouse magazine under the pseudonym Joann Witty. Penthouse later republished the photos under Barnes' real name in 1982 after she had become famous in Three's Company. Barnes filed a lawsuit, which was appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. She won a partial order in her favor on appeal, but it is unclear if she was awarded any monetary damages.

In 1976, she began studying acting with coach Sal Dano, whose students included Tom Selleck, Robert Hays and Catherine Bach. In 1978, she starred in a TV series, The American Girls, which was canceled after seven weeks. Subsequent parts include the horror film Tintorera, and such television series as Starsky and Hutch, Kojak, The Rockford Files, The Love Boat, the 1978 TV version of The Time Machine and the 1979 television film A Vacation In Hell. In 1980, Barnes landed a supporting role in Sunday Lovers.

Three's Company

In 1981, Barnes was cast as Terri Alden on Three's Company after Suzanne Somers left the series after a contractual dispute with producers, and after Jenilee Harrison served as interim replacement Cindy Snow. The part, which is Barnes' most notable role, brought her instant public recognition. In the 1998 TV program E! True Hollywood Story, Barnes called Three's Company the "three worst years" of her life. Barnes revealed that after shooting a couple of episodes of the show, she felt "uncomfortable" on the set and asked, unsuccessfully, to be released from her contract. She remained friends with co-stars Joyce DeWitt and Richard Kline; they made public appearances together. Barnes was portrayed by actress Anne Ross in the 2003 television movie Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company.

Later career

File:Priscilla Barnes Wild Women of Chastity Gulch.jpg

The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch: Priscilla as Maggie McCulloch (1982)

In 1982, Barnes starred in Aaron Spelling's The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch. After Three's Company was cancelled by ABC in 1984, Barnes appeared in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill as Della Churchill, the underwater sci-fi/action thriller Lords of the Deep (1989), Traxx (1988) with Shadoe Stevens, and in NBC's Perry Mason and the Case of the Reckless Romeo (1993), with Raymond Burr as Perry Mason. Her 1990s feature film appearances include Stepfather III (1992), Mallrats (1995), The Crossing Guard (1995), and Mumford (1999).

Her 2000s work includes The Devil's Rejects (2005), Thr3e (2006), The Visitation (2006), and American Cowslip (2009). In 2012, she co-starred as "Vicey Hatfield" in Bad Blood: Hatfields and McCoys. In 2013, she appeared in Disaster Wars: Earthquake vs Tsunami.

Barnes appeared in a Hallmark Channel original movie called Elevator Girl, and appeared in 2014 in the recurring role of "Magda" on the CW series Jane the Virgin (2014).

Personal life

Barnes has been married to actor Ted Monte since 2003.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Beyond Reason	Leslie Valentine
1978	Texas Detour	Claudia Hunter
1978	The Seniors	Sylvia
1979	Delta Fox	Karen
1980	The Last Married Couple in America	Helena Dryden
1980	Sunday Lovers	Donna	Segment: "Skippy"
1988	Traxx	Mayor Alexandra Cray
1989	Lords of the Deep	Claire
1989	License to Kill	Della Churchill Leiter
1992	Body Trouble	Vera Vin Rouge
1992	Talons of the Eagle	Cassandra
1994	Erotique	Claire	Segment: "Taboo Parlor"
1994	May Jane	Sister Fong
1995	The Crossing Guard	Verna
1995	Mallrats	Ivannah
1995	Witch Academy	Edith
1997	Catherine's Grove	Sally Willows
1998	The Killing Grounds	Della Desordo	Video
1998	Ava's Magical Adventure	Sarah
1998	Divorce: A Contemporary Western	Chris
1999	Implicated	Chloe
1999	Hash Brown's	Lil Brown
2001	Final Payback	Sharon Moreno
2001	Alone with a Stranger	Claire Andrews
2002	The Backlot Murders	Stephanie	Video
2003	Shrink Rap	Sheila
2004	Unseen Evil 2	Sheila	Video
2005	Sex Sells: The Making of Touché	Roxy Free
2005	The Devil's Rejects	Gloria Sullivan
2005	Heart of the Beholder	Miss Olivia
2006	The Visitation	Dee Henchle
2006	Thr3e	Balinda Parson
2007	Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield	Vera 'Momma' Mason	Video
2008	Trailer Park of Terror	Jean
2008	An American in China	Silvia Braddock
2009	American Cowslip	Samantha
2010	Kid Racer	Buddy	Video
2010	First Dog	June Angell
2011	The A Plate	Candice Stevens
2012	Hatfields and McCoys: Bad Blood	Vicey Hatfield
2013	88 Miles to Moscow	Mom	Short film
2013	Disaster Wars: Earthquake vs. Tsunami	Vice President Taylor
2013	Fat Planet	Jill Strong
2015	Turkey	Sue	Short film
2016	Jonny's Sweet Revenge	'Stonewall' Rosie Callahan	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Cannon	Linda	"Bloodlines"
1977	The Rockford Files	Lauren Ingeborg	"The Mayor's Committee from Deer Lick Falls"
1978	The American Girls	Rebecca Tomkins	Main role
1978	Starsky & Hutch	Lisa Kendrick	"Foxy Lady"
1978	Kojak	Sally Addison / Vicki Addison	"60 Miles to Hell"
1978	The Love Boat	Jeanette Arnold	1 episode
1978	The Time Machine	Weena	TV film
1979	A Vacation in Hell	Denise	TV film
1980	Taxi	Tawny	"Fantasy Borough: Part 2"
1980	Vega$	Pam / Satin	"Love Affair"
1981	Scruples	Melanie	TV miniseries
1981-1984	Three's Company	Terri Alden	Regular role
1982	The Love Boat	Britta Sorenson	"Getting to Know You: Parts 1 & 2"
1982	The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch	Maggie McCulloch	TV film
1984	Hotel	Elayne Grayson	"Final Chapters"
1985	The Love Boat	Helga Bjorsson	"Mr. Smith Goes to Stockholm: Parts 1 & 2"
1985	Murder, She Wrote	Vicky Gallegos	"Dead Heat"
1986	Blacke's Magic	Maryanne Thompson	"The Revenge of the Esperanza"
1987	Hotel	Donna Shepherd	"Mixed Emotions"
1988	Perfect People	Amy	TV film
1989	Highway to Heaven	Mary Anders / Tawny Turner	"Summer Camp"
1991	The Letters from Moab	Lila	TV short
1992	Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo	Brenda Kingsley	TV film
1992	Stepfather III	Christine Davis	TV film
1994	Time Trax	Veronica Barclay	"Happy Valley"
1994	Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 Women	Crystal	TV film
1995	Burke's Law	Christy Winters	"Who Killed the Toy Maker?"
1995	Asian Connection: Old Flames	Frankie	TV film
1997	Total Security	Diane Richards	"One Wedding and a Funeral"
1997	Viper	Sheila Dunn	"Cold Warriors"
1998	The Cowboy and the Movie Star	Marlene Brighton	TV film
2000	The Invisible Man	Liz Morgan	"Liberty and Larceny"
2002	For the People	Patricia Franklin	"Pilot"
2002	She Spies	Warden Stoop	"Perilyzed"
2010	Elevator Girl	Elaine Schuster	TV film
2012	Low Lifes	Mary	TV film
2014-2015	Jane the Virgin	Magda	Recurring role
2015	Break a Hip	Sabrina Klinefelter	"The Class"
2015	NCIS	Mrs. Skalbe	"Lockdown"

External links

• Priscilla Barnes at the Internet Movie Database
• Priscilla Barnes at AllMovie