Jane Badler (born 31 December 1953, Brooklyn, New York[1]) is an American-Australian actress and singer. She is known for her role as Diana, the main antagonist in NBC's science fiction series V between 1983 and 1985. Following this she had roles in the primetime soap opera Falcon Crest and the 1988 revival of Mission: Impossible, the latter of which was filmed in Australia which has since become Badler's home. She has also become an established nightclub singer in Australia, where she still resides, and has released three albums.
Jane Badler | |
|---|---|
 Badler in 2012 | |
| Born | Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Spouse | Stephen Hains |
| Children | 2 |
Early life and education
editBadler was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her family is Jewish.[2] Badler spent her teen years in Great Neck, New York, moving to Manchester, New Hampshire, when she was in high school. When Badler was 18, her father and brother were killed in a plane crash.[3]
Badler won the title Miss New Hampshire and competed at the 1973 Miss America Pageant.[4] Subsequently, she enrolled at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois,[5] to study drama.
Career
editFilm and television career
editBadler's first television role was Melinda Cramer Janssen on the American daytime soap opera One Life to Live, which she played from 1977 to 1981 and again in 1983. During her run, she also appeared in a 1979 episode of the primetime series Fantasy Island. Badler also starred on the daytime soap opera The Doctors as Natalie Bell from 1981 to 1982.
Badler then won her most prominent role, that of the villainous alien Diana in the NBC sci-fi miniseries V (1983). She reprised the role in the sequel miniseries V: The Final Battle (1984) and again on V: The Series, which ran for one season from 1984 to 1985.
Following V, Badler co-starred with José Ferrer in the made-for-TV supernatural thriller Covenant. The following year she guest-starred as Meredith Braxton throughout the 1986–87 season of the CBS primetime soap opera Falcon Crest. Her other guest appearances during the 1980s included Riptide, Hotel and Murder, She Wrote. In 1987, she played the role of Tania Winthrop in the short-lived action-adventure series The Highwayman. She then traveled to Australia to play agent Shannon Reed in the 1980s revival of Mission: Impossible, joining the series midway through its first season (replacing actress Terry Markwell, and her character of Casey Randall); then stayed with the series for its second season before it was cancelled in early 1990. After the series ended, Badler moved to Australia permanently and married businessman Stephen Hains. They have two sons, Sam and Harry. She later appeared in the role of Mrs Peacock on the Australian game show Cluedo from 1992 to 1993, and had a guest-starring role in Snowy River: The McGregor Saga in 1995.
In March 2010, Badler was cast as the villainous Diana Marshall in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.[6] She had a four-month guest contract with the show.[7]
A remake of V premiered in late 2009, and although this version did not include the character of Diana, the series' executive producer, Scott Peters, suggested that Badler and other stars from the original version may be offered guest roles as new characters.[8] In August 2010, it was announced that Badler would be joining the series as a new character named Diana, the benevolent mother of the Visitors' evil leader Anna[9] (Morena Baccarin). Badler appeared in nine of the second season's ten episodes, commencing in January 2011. In the second-season finale, her character was killed by Anna,[10] and ABC decided to not renew the series for a third season.[11]
In November 2020, Badler played Lauren Balmer in the horror film Surrogate. The film was released internationally in September 2022.
Music and theatre career
editAlready an able singer when she competed in the Miss New Hampshire and Miss America Pageants, Badler forged a career in cabaret and on the stage in the 2005 Magnormos production of archy & mehitabel,[12][13] based on Don Marquis's books of poetry. She also appeared in Sextet, Big Hair in America, and with acclaimed Australian director Robert Chuter (who also directed two of her cabaret shows in 2000) she appeared in The Singing Forest, The Great Gatsby and her one-woman show Shakin' the Blues Away in which she also sang. Other productions in which she appeared for Magnormos included a concert of the musical Rebecca and OzMade Musicals.
Badler released her debut album (backed by the Melbourne-based band Sir) on June 1, 2008. Titled The Devil Has My Double, it is an autobiographical album which has been described as "a compulsive mix of fame, sex and solitude, set to a sweeping soundtrack of cold soul and passionate synthetics". As part of promotion for the album, she gave an extensive interview about her work to the Boxcutters podcast.[14]
Badler released her second album, Tears Again, in 2011. She then teamed up with Australian musicians Matt Doll and Byron St John to co-write her third album, Opus, which was released in September 2014.[15]
Personal life
editIn 1990, Badler married Australian businessman Stephen Hains, son of David Hains.[16] The couple met while she was filming Mission: Impossible in Australia. Badler remained in Australia and the couple reside in Melbourne. They have two children.[3]
On January 7, 2020, Badler announced that her 27-year-old son, actor Harry Hains, died of a fentanyl overdose following a battle with "mental illness, chronic sleeping disorders, and addiction".[17]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977–1981, 1983 | One Life to Live | Melinda Cramer | Unknown episodes |
| 1979 | Fantasy Island | Kim | Episode: "The Victim/The Mermaid" |
| 1981–1982 | The Doctors | Natalie Bell | Unknown episodes |
| 1981 | Terror Among Us | Pam | TV movie |
| 1983 | The First Time | Karen Watson | |
| 1983 | V | Diana | Main cast, miniseries |
| 1983 | Mr. Smith | Uncredited | Episode: "Mr. Smith Plays Cyrano" |
| 1984 | V The Final Battle | Diana | Main cast, miniseries |
| 1984 | Brothers | Phyllis | Episode: "Mindless Passion" |
| 1984–1985 | V: The Series | Diana | Main cast |
| 1985 | Covenant | Dana Noble | TV movie |
| 1985 | Hotel | Angie Archer | Episode: "Celebrations" |
| 1986 | Blacke's Magic | Elisa Leigh | Episode: "Ten Tons of Trouble" |
| 1986 | Riptide | Janet Ingram | Episode: "Smiles We Left Behind" |
| 1986 | Penalty Phase | Katie Pinter | TV movie |
| 1986–1987 | Falcon Crest | Meredith Braxton | Recurring role (season 6) |
| 1987 | Jake and the Fatman | Shelly | Episode: "Happy Days Are Here Again" |
| 1987–1988 | The Highwayman | Tania Winthrop | Recurring role |
| 1988 | Murder, She Wrote | Carolyn Hazlitt | Episode: "Curse of the Daanau" |
| 1989 | Easy Kill | Jade Anderson | |
| 1989 | Fine Gold | Julia | |
| 1989 | Autumn Rain | Lucia | |
| 1989–1990 | Mission: Impossible | Shannon Reed | Main cast |
| 1990 | Black Snow | Shelby Collins | |
| 1992 | Cluedo | Mrs. Elizabeth Peacock | Main cast, whodunit game show |
| 1992 | What's Cooking | Guest | TV Series, 1 episode |
| 1992 | Embassy | Jacqueline Kowalski | Episode: "Nice Guys Finish Last" |
| 1994 | Sky Trackers | Coral Lee Pierce | Episode: "Star Time" |
| 1995 | Under the Gun | Sandy Torrence | |
| 1995 | The Man from Snowy River | Yvonne Waugh | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Flipper | Episode: "Help Me, Rhonda" | |
| 1999 | Crash Zone | Elanor Renfrey | Episode: "No News Is Good News" |
| 2001 | Like Mother Like Son | Mrs. Fox | TV movie |
| 2002 | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World | Dame Alice Kyteler | Episode: "A Witch's Calling" |
| 2002 | Blue Heelers | Kath Shepherd | Episode: "Sins of the Father" |
| 2010 | Neighbours | Diana Marshall | Recurring role |
| 2010 | Needle | Professor Banyon | |
| 2011 | V | Diana | Recurring role (season 2) |
| 2011 | Offspring | Wendy | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Birthday Cake | Herself | |
| 2013 | Bitch, Popcorn & Blood | La Femme Fatale | |
| 2014 | Good Samaritan | Businesswoman | |
| 2015 | Girl Gets Girl | Kirsten | |
| 2016 | Virtual Revolution | Dina | |
| 2018 | A Beautiful Request | Wendy | |
| 2022 | Surrogate | Lauren Balmer | |
| 2022 | Smiling Friends | Herself - host | Episode: "Mr. Frog" |
| 2023 | Today Extra | Guest - Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2023 | Studio 10 | Guest - Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2023 | Trim Season | Mona | Feature film, Australia/US |
| 2024 | Ricky Stanicky | Miriam Summerhayes |
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| The Devil Has My Double |
|
| Tears Again |
|
| Opus |
|
Singles
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| "Four Corners to My Bed" |
|
| "Men Who Lie" |
|
| "Snow Carnival Queen" |
|
| "I Want a Lot of Boys to Cry at My Funeral" |
|
References
edit- ^ "Noted in introductory paragraph at her IMDB entry".
- ^ Badler, Jane [@janebadler] (August 11, 2011). "I bet most of you don't know I am a Jewish chick born in Brooklyn who would prefer a great meal to a glass of wine !!" (Tweet). Retrieved February 27, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Lallo, Michael (July 1, 2020). "'Even after a great loss, you can live a life that's beautiful'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Miss NH in Review". Miss New Hampshire. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
- ^ Annual commencement / Northwestern University. Northwestern University Evanston, Ill. 1976. p. 20.
- ^ "V actress cast as Neighbours baddie". MSN. March 29, 2010. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (June 15, 2010). "Jane Badler teases 'Neighbours' role". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
- ^ Lee, Patrick (August 11, 2009). "V producer on who might return and other homages". Syfy Wire. Archived from the original on September 17, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ^ Keck, William (August 6, 2010). "Keck's Exclusives: Jane Badler to Revive Diana on V's Season Premiere". TV Guide. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ^ Franich, Darren (March 15, 2011). "'V' season finale: Who needs closure? Bring on the sex, the lizards, and the death of [SPOILER]!". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ^ Kimball, Trevor (May 13, 2011). "V: ABC Cancels Sci-Fi TV Series; No Season Three". TV Series Finale. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ^ "Entertainment News: archy & mehitabel (November 28–30, 2005)". Entertainmentdepot.com.au. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
- ^ "archy & mehitabel (November 28–30, 2005)". Magnormos.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
- ^ "Ep 160: Jane Badler (Diana from V), Sons of Anarchy". Boxcutters. December 8, 2008. Archived from the original on August 15, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
- ^ Xiberras, Paula (May 19, 2014). "Reptilian Alien to Fairy Princess". Tasmanian Times. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
- ^ "2024 Australia's 50 Richest Net Worth". Forbes. February 14, 2024. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024.
- ^ Picheta, Rob (January 10, 2020). "Harry Hains, 'American Horror Story' actor, dead at 27". CNN. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024.
External links
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