Beverly D'Angelo Biography

Beverly Heather D'Angelo (born November 15, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Ellen Griswold in the National Lampoon's Vacation franchise.

Early life

D'Angelo was born in Upper Arlington, Ohio, the daughter of Priscilla (née Smith), a violinist, and Gene D'Angelo, a bass player and television station manager. Her father was of Italian ancestry. Her maternal grandfather, Howard Dwight Smith, was the architect who designed Ohio Stadium, also known as "the Horseshoe" at Ohio State University. She has three brothers, Jeff, Tim and Tony.

Career

D'Angelo began work in the theatre, appearing on Broadway in 1976 in Rockabye Hamlet (also known as Kronborg: 1582) a musical based on Shakespeare's Hamlet.

D'Angelo made her debut in the first three episodes of the TV mini-series Captains and the Kings in 1976. After gaining a minor role in Annie Hall in 1977, D'Angelo appeared in a string of hit movies in the late 1970s, including Every Which Way But Loose, Hair, and Coal Miner's Daughter, the latter earning her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Patsy Cline and a Country Music Association award for Album of the Year. Her biggest break came in 1983, starring with Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Vacation in the role of Ellen Griswold. She reprised this role in three Vacation sequels and a short film from 1985 through 2010. D'Angelo received an Emmy nomination for her performance in the 1984 TV movie version of A Streetcar Named Desire. In 1992, she had a guest appearance in the third season of The Simpsons as Lurleen Lumpkin, a beautiful Southern country singer and waitress, in "Colonel Homer", and sixteen years later in 2008, she appeared in the nineteenth season"?as the same character"?in the episode "Papa Don't Leech".

She has a recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as defense attorney Rebecca Balthus. In 2006, she starred in the independent cult hit Gamers: The Movie. She can be seen on the hit HBO series Entourage, playing the role of agent Barbara "Babs" Miller.

In 2008, D'Angelo had a role in the film Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay as Sally. She played the housemother in the film The House Bunny, and also appeared in the Tony Kaye film Black Water Transit, and in David O. Russell's Nailed as Jessica Biel's mother.

Personal life

In 1981, D'Angelo married Italian aristocrat Don Lorenzo Salviati, the only son and heir of Don Forese Salviati, 5th Duke Salviati, Marchese di Montieri and Boccheggiano, Nobile Romano Coscritto, and his wife, the former Maria Grazia Gawronska.

Later, she began a relationship with Anton Furst, an Academy award-winning production designer, who committed suicide in 1991. D'Angelo was in a relationship with actor Al Pacino from 1996 until 2003. The couple has twins, son Anton James and daughter Olivia Rose (born 2001).

Filmography

Film

• The Sentinel (1977)
• Annie Hall (1977)
• First Love (1977)
• Every Which Way But Loose (1978)
• Hair (1979)
• Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
• Honky Tonk Freeway (1981)
• Paternity (1981)
• National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (1984)
• Finders Keepers (1984)
• National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)
• Hands of a Stranger (1987) (T.V. film)
• Trading Hearts (1987)
• Maid to Order (1987)
• In the Mood (1987)
• High Spirits (1988)
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
• Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will? (1990)
• Pacific Heights (1990)
• The Miracle (1991)
• The Pope Must Die (1991)
• A Child Lost Forever (1992) (T.V. film - Lifetime)
• Man Trouble (1992)
• Menendez:A Killing in Beverly Hills (1994) (T.V. film- Lifetime)
• Lightning Jack (1994)
• The Crazysitter (1995)
• Eye for an Eye (1996)
• Vegas Vacation (1997)
• Nowhere (1997)
• Illuminata (1998)
• With Friends Like These... (1998)
• American History X (1998)
• Sugar Town (1999)
• High Fidelity (2000) her scene was cut but can be seen in DVD extras
• Summer Catch (2001)
• Hair High (2004) (voice)
• King of the Corner (2004)
• Gamers: The Movie (2006)
• Relative Strangers (2006)
• Battle for Terra (2007) (voice)
• Oranges (2008)
• Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)
• The House Bunny (2008)
• Black Water Transit (2009)
• Hotel Hell Vacation (2010)
• Bounty Killer (2013)

Television

• Captains and the Kings (three episodes, 1976)
• The Simpsons (1992, 2008) (voice of Lurleen Lumpkin)
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (five episodes, 2003"2008)
• Entourage (2005"2011)
• Family Guy (2007) (voice)
• Hollywood Residential (2008)
• Cougar Town (2010)
• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010) (voice)