Beverly Heather D'Angelo

Intriguing, inspiring, and never less than interesting -- key adjectives to describe the work of Beverly D'Angelo, which has already passed the four-decade mark. Even though she was in better films than what she typically appeared in, she was an intriguing person to keep an eye on regardless of what role she was in. Hollywood loved her vibrant persona, relaxed manner of speaking, and ability to steal scenes. Beverly Heather D'Angelo was born on November 15, 1951 in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of musicians Priscilla Ruth (Smith) who was a violinist, and Eugene Constantino "Gene" D'Angelo, a bass player who also ran a television station. Howard Dwight Smith, her maternal grandfather, was the Ohio ("Horseshoe") Stadium architect at Ohio State University. Her mother was of German, Irish, Scottish and German descent, while her father was Italian. Beverly was educated in an American school in Florence, Italy. Beverly began her career as an animator/cartoonist with Hanna-Barbera Productions. After moving to Canada, Beverly became a session singer , and performed wherever she could, including coffeehouses and bars with topless seats. The teen was asked to join Ronnie Hawkins, a rockabilly legend. Beverly started her career in acting when she was a part of the Charlottetown Festival repertory troupe and was dismissed by Hawkins. While on tour in Canada, Ophelia was playing the role of Ophelia in "Kronborg 1582" the musical rock adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Colleen Dewhurst saw potential in Beverly and the production. The show was later renamed Rockabye Hamlet after Gower Champion as the musical director joined the mix. While the show itself was not long-lived but Beverly's Ophelia received a lot of attention and soon she was in the West coast with film and television opportunities. From that point on she was never back on the stage, though she did appear alongside Ed Harris in the 1995 off-Broadway version of Sam Shepard's "Simpatico" which won her a Theatre World Award. She was a part of the TV miniseries Captains and the Kings (1976), and later played the role of a minor character in The Sentinel (1977), and Annie Hall (1977), both Woody Allen classics. First Love (1977), Clint Eastwood-starrer Every Which Way but Loose (78) as well as the film adaptation of the popular counter-culture hit Hair (1979) were some of her co-starring roles. The most memorable thing for Beverly was her stunning lead role as the sole Patsy Cline in the acclaimed biopic Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). She as well as Sissy Spacek, who was a co-star with country singer Loretta Lynn, both provided their singing with flair.