Brenda Irene Dickson is an American actress who originated the role of

Jill Foster Abbott Jill Abbott is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. The longest-running and only remaining original character, Jill was created and introduced by William J. Bell. Originally portrayed by Brenda ...

on the soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...

''.

Early life and education

Dickson was born in Long Beach, California. As a teenager, she toured Southeast Asia singing and dancing for the armed forces with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

. At the age of 17, she won the title of Miss California USA in the Miss World pageant; it led to acting offers but she decided to continue performing at

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

shows while studying acting at the

Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, ...

in Los Angeles.

Career

Dickson made her stage debut at the

Beverly Hills Playhouse The Beverly Hills Playhouse is an acting school with theaters and training facilities in Beverly Hills, California, and also in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. It is one of the oldest acting schools and theatres in Los Angeles Cou ...

and went on to appear in stage roles in the Los Angeles area. She made her feature film debut in the 1972 film ''Deathmaster''. She appeared in guest roles on '' Men at Law''; ''

The F.B.I. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

''; '' Love, American Style''; '' Here We Go Again''; and the prime-time soap opera '' Falcon Crest''. Dickson played the role of Jill Foster Abbott on ''The Young and the Restless'' from 1973 to 1980, then again from 1983 to 1987. Dickson was let go from the show in 1987. She filed a $10 million lawsuit against

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

in an effort to be reinstated. In the lawsuit, Dickson claimed

William J. Bell William Joseph Bell (March 6, 1927 – April 29, 2005) was an American screenwriter and television producer, best known as the creator of the soap operas '' Another World'', ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. Ea ...

blacklisted her and wreaked havoc on her personal and professional life by hiring "Mafia cartel judges and attorneys" to "ruin" her life. As a result, she ended up "broke and homeless" and claimed to have been blocked from working. In 1987, Dickson released the film ''Welcome to My Home'', described as a "vanity film" which showcased her home and wardrobe. A YouTube parody became an Internet meme and has been removed and re-uploaded several times. In 2018, its influence was profiled in '' Vanity Fair''. Dickson, who was interviewed for the article, revealed that she financed the film with $5,000 of her own money. In May 2013, Blue Boulevard Publications released Dickson's memoir, ''My True Hidden Hollywood Story''.

Personal life

Marriages

Dickson has been married twice. Her first husband was dentist Robert Rifkin whom she married on September 30, 1976. Dickson and Rifkin divorced in 1983. She married attorney Jan Weinberg on December 25, 1997. They were divorced in 2006.

Legal issues

In 2007, Dickson was jailed in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

because of a civil contempt order stemming from a divorce judgment from her ex-husband Jan Weinberg. She said she was the victim and wasn't given a fair divorce hearing. Released after 16 days, she was sent back to jail and released after more than three months. In 2009, the judgment in Weinberg v. Dickson was set aside after an appeals court found that the judge in the original trial had abused his discretion in not guaranteeing Dickson a fair trial and that her imprisonment had been unlawful.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

* 1986 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Villainess in a Daytime Serial ''

''. * 1988 Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villainess in a Daytime Serial ''

''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickson, Brenda Living people 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Long Beach, California American soap opera actresses American television actresses Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)