Age: 86
Birthplace: Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, UK
Barbara Steele (born 29 December 1937) is an English film actress. She is best known for starring in Italian gothic horror films of the 1960s. Her breakthrough role came in Italian director Mario Bava's Black Sunday (1960).
Steele starred in a string of horror films, including The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962), The Ghost (1963) directed by Riccardo Freda, The Long Hair of Death (1964) and Roger Corman's 1961 adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Pit and the Pendulum, among others. She also starred in Castle of Blood (1964), Terror-Creatures from the Grave and Nightmare Castle (both 1965) and Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968).
She guest starred on various British television shows including the spy drama, Danger Man starring Patrick McGoohan. She made her American television debut in 1960 as Dolores in the "Daughter of Illusion" episode of the ABC series, Adventures in Paradise, starring Gardner McKay. In that same year she was replaced in the Elvis Presley film Flaming Star after a disagreement with director Don Siegel. In 1961, she appeared as Phyllis in the "Beta Delta Gamma" episode of CBS's Alfred Hitchcock Presents. She also had an important role in Federico Fellini's celebrated 8½ in 1963.
Steele returned to the horror genre in the later 1970's, appearing in three classic horror films, Silent Scream, Piranha and Shivers (aka They Came From Within).
Steele was cast as Julia Hoffman in the 1991 remake of the 1960s ABC television series, Dark Shadows. In 2010, she was a guest star in the Dark Shadows audio drama, The Night Whispers.
In 2010, actor-writer Mark Gatiss interviewed Steele about her role in Black Sunday (1960) for his BBC documentary series A History of Horror. In 2014 she appeared in the directorial debut of Ryan Gosling's drama-fantasy thriller film Lost River, in which she portrayed the character Belladonna in a supporting role.
Year | Title | Role | Director |
---|---|---|---|
1958 | Bachelor of Hearts | Fiona | Wolf Rilla |
1959 | Sapphire | Student | Basil Dearden |
1959 | Upstairs and Downstairs | Mary | Ralph Thomas |
1960 | Your Money or Your Wife | Juliet Frost | Anthony Simmons |
1960 | Black Sunday | Katia Vajda/Princess Asa Vajda | Mario Bava |
1961 | The Pit and the Pendulum | Elizabeth | Roger Corman |
1962 | The Horrible Dr. Hichcock | Cynthia Hichcock | Riccardo Freda |
1963 | 8½ | Gloria Morin | Federico Fellini |
1963 | The Hours of Love | Leila | Luciano Salce |
1963 | The Ghost | Margaret Hichcoc | Riccardo Freda |
1964 | The Long Hair of Death | Helen Karnstein / Mary Karnstein | Antonio Margheriti |
1964 | I maniaci | Barbara/signora Brugnoli | Lucio Fulci |
1964 | Un tentativo sentimentale | Silvia | Pasquale Festa Campanile and Massimo Franciosa |
1964 | Castle of Blood | Elisabeth Blackwood | Antonio Margheriti |
1964 | White Voices | Giulia | Pasquale Festa Campanile and Massimo Franciosa |
1965 | I soldi | cameo appearance | Gianni Puccini and Giorgio Cavedon |
1965 | Terror-Creatures from the Grave | Cleo Hauff | Massimo Pupillo |
1965 | Nightmare Castle | Muriel Arrowsmith / Jenny Arrowsmith | Mario Caiano |
1966 | L'armata Brancaleone | Teodora | Mario Monicelli |
1966 | The She Beast | Veronica | Michael Reeves |
1966 | Young Törless | Bozena | Volker Schlöndorff |
1966 | An Angel for Satan | Harriet Montebruno / Belinda | Camillo Mastrocinque |
1968 | Curse of the Crimson Altar | Lavinia Morley | Vernon Sewell |
1974 | Caged Heat | Supt. McQueen | Jonathan Demme |
1975 | Shivers | Betts | David Cronenberg |
1977 | I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (scenes deleted) | Idat | Anthony Page |
1978 | Pretty Baby | Josephine | Louis Malle |
1978 | Piranha | Dr. Mengers | Joe Dante |
1980 | Silent Scream | Victoria Engels | Denny Harris |
1983 | The Winds of War (TV mini series) | Mrs. Stoller | Dan Curtis |
1988 | War and Remembrance (TV mini series) | Elsa MacMahon | Dan Curtis |
1991 | Dark Shadows (TV mini series) | Dr. Julia Hoffman / Countess Natalie Du Pres | Dan Curtis |
2012 | The Butterfly Room | Ann | Gionata Zarantonello |
2014 | Lost River | Belladonna | Ryan Gosling |