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Jane Badler

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jane Badler
Badler in 2012
Born
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active1977–present
SpouseStephen Hains
Children2

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.

Early life and education

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Badler 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

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Film and television career

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Badler'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

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Already 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

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In 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

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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

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Studio albums

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Title Details
The Devil Has My Double
Tears Again
  • Release date: March 11, 2011
  • Label: Inertia Records
  • Formats: CD, download
Opus
  • Release date: September 15, 2014
  • Label: MeJane Music
  • Formats: CD, download

Singles

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Title Details
"Four Corners to My Bed"
  • Released: 2011
  • Formats: CD, download
"Men Who Lie"
  • Released: 2011
  • Formats: CD, download
  • Music video: Directed by 'Mal Voyageur'
"Snow Carnival Queen"
  • Released: 2011
  • Formats: CD, download
  • Music video: Animated and produced by 1house Management
"I Want a Lot of Boys to Cry at My Funeral"

References

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  1. ^ "Noted in introductory paragraph at her IMDB entry".
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Miss NH in Review". Miss New Hampshire. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  5. ^ Annual commencement / Northwestern University. Northwestern University Evanston, Ill. 1976. p. 20.
  6. ^ "V actress cast as Neighbours baddie". MSN. March 29, 2010. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
  7. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (June 15, 2010). "Jane Badler teases 'Neighbours' role". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Kimball, Trevor (May 13, 2011). "V: ABC Cancels Sci-Fi TV Series; No Season Three". TV Series Finale. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  12. ^ "Entertainment News: archy & mehitabel (November 28–30, 2005)". Entertainmentdepot.com.au. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  13. ^ "archy & mehitabel (November 28–30, 2005)". Magnormos.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ Xiberras, Paula (May 19, 2014). "Reptilian Alien to Fairy Princess". Tasmanian Times. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  16. ^ "2024 Australia's 50 Richest Net Worth". Forbes. February 14, 2024. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024.
  17. ^ Picheta, Rob (January 10, 2020). "Harry Hains, 'American Horror Story' actor, dead at 27". CNN. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024.
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