Beverly Heather D'Angelo (born November 15, 1951) is an American actress who starred as Ellen Griswold in the ''

National Lampoon's Vacation ''National Lampoon's Vacation'', sometimes referred to as simply ''Vacation'', is a 1983 American road trip comedy film directed by Harold Ramis starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, John Candy, and Christie Brink ...

'' films (1983–2015). She has appeared in over 60 films and was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for her role as

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

in '' Coal Miner's Daughter'' (1980), and for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for her role as

Stella Kowalski Stella Kowalski (née DuBois) is one of the main characters in Tennessee Williams' play ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. She is the younger sister of central character Blanche DuBois and wife of Stanley Kowalski. In the play The play begins when Bla ...

in the TV film ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...

'' (1984). D'Angelo's other film roles include Sheila Franklin in ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'' (1979) and Doris Vinyard in ''

American History X ''American History X'' is a 1998 American crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna. The film stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong as two brothers from Los Angeles who are involved in the white power skinhead and ne ...

'' (1998).

Early life

D'Angelo was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, the daughter of Priscilla Ruth ( Smith), a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist, and Eugene Constantino "Gene" D'Angelo, a bass player and television station manager at

WBNS-TV WBNS-TV (channel 10) is a television station in Columbus, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside the company's sole radio properties, WBNS (1460 AM) and WBNS-FM (97.1). The stations share studios on Twi ...

in Columbus. Her father was of Italian descent. Her paternal grandparents, Eugenio and Rosina D'Angelo were from Introdacqua in the Abruzzo region Italy. She has three brothers, Jeff, Tim and Tony. Their maternal grandfather,

Howard Dwight Smith Howard Dwight Smith (February 21, 1886 – April 27, 1958) was an architect most known for his designs of Ohio Stadium (completed in 1922) for which he was awarded the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal for Public Building Design. ...

, was an architect who designed the

Ohio Stadium Ohio Stadium is an American football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is also the site for the university's Spring Commencement c ...

, nicknamed "the Horseshoe" at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. D'Angelo attended

Upper Arlington High School Upper Arlington High School is the sole high school in the Upper Arlington City School District in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a northwest suburb of Columbus, Ohio. It receives students from Jones Middle School and Hastings Middle School. The curre ...

Upper Arlington, Ohio Upper Arlington, often known by its initials U.A., is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, on the northwest side of the Columbus metropolitan area. The Old Arlington neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ...

, a northwest Columbus suburb. In 2009, she was awarded the Upper Arlington Alumni Association (UAAA) Distinguished Alumnus Award for achievement in her career. D'Angelo worked as an illustrator at Hanna-Barbera Studios and as a singer before pursuing an interest in acting. While living for a period in Canada, she was a backup singer for American-born rockabilly singer Rompin'

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

' band The Hawks. After going out on their own they became The Band, a group that is considered legendary.

Career

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

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. She made her television 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 ''Annie Hall'' is a 1977 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay written by him and Marshall Brickman, and produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joffe. The film stars Allen as Alvy Singer, w ...

'' in 1977, D'Angelo appeared in a string of hit movies in the late 1970s including ''

Every Which Way But Loose ''Every Which Way but Loose'' is a 1978 American action comedy film released by Warner Bros., produced by Robert Daley and directed by James Fargo. It stars Clint Eastwood in an uncharacteristic and offbeat comedy role as Philo Beddoe, a tr ...

'', ''

'', and '' Coal Miner's Daughter'', the last earning her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as

. She won a Country Music Association award for Album of the Year. Her biggest break came in 1983 starring with

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

in ''

'' in the role of Ellen Griswold. She reprised this role in four ''Vacation'' sequels and a short film between 1985 and 2015. In the 1980s she starred in many other major comedy films; in the mid-1990s she acted primarily in independent movies. In 1994 D'Angelo returned to the stage and won a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945� ...

for her performance in the Off-Broadway play '' Simpatico''. She received an

nomination for her performance as Stella Kowalski in the 1984 TV movie version of ''

''. She later had main roles in a number of made-for-television dramatic films, including '' Slow Burn'', '' Judgment Day: The John List Story'', and '' Sweet Temptation''. In the 2000s D'Angelo had a recurring role on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' as defense attorney Rebecca Balthus. She also worked as a voice actress. In 1992 she had a guest appearance in the third season of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' as

Lurleen Lumpkin The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...

, a Southern

country singer Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and waitress in the "

Colonel Homer "Colonel Homer" is the twentieth episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 26, 1992. In the episode, Homer and Marge quarrel afte ...

" episode. Sixteen years later in 2008, she appeared in the nineteenth season as the same character in the episode "

Papa Don't Leech "Papa Don't Leech" is the sixteenth episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired in the United States on April 13, 2008 on the Fox network. It features the return of Lurleen Lu ...

". upD'Angelo in 2012 From 2005 to 2011, D'Angelo appeared in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'' playing the role of agent Barbara "Babs" Miller. In 2006 she starred in the independent film '' Gamers: The Movie''. In 2008 D'Angelo had a role in the film ''

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay ''Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay'' is a 2008 American buddy stoner comedy film written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. The sequel to ''Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle'' (2004), it is the second installment in the ...

'' as Sally. She played the housemother in the film ''

The House Bunny ''The House Bunny'' is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Fred Wolf, written by Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz, and starring Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, and Emma Stone. It tells the story of a former Playboy bunny who signs up to be t ...

'', and also appeared in the Tony Kaye film ''

Black Water Transit ''Black Water Transit'' is an unreleased 2009 American crime drama film based on the novel of the same name by Carsten Stroud. It is directed by Tony Kaye and stars an ensemble cast including Laurence Fishburne and Karl Urban. Premise In post-K ...

''. In 2014, D'Angelo was cast alongside Chevy Chase in an ABC comedy pilot called ''Chev & Bev'', about a retired couple having to raise their grandchildren. ABC opted against making a series. D'Angelo appeared alongside

in the comedy ''

Vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...

'', a continuation of the original film, which was released on July 29, 2015. D'Angelo narrates a short biographical film about

, which is shown to visitors of The Patsy Cline Museum in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. The museum opened to the public on April 7, 2017.

Personal life

In 1981, D'Angelo married Italian 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 Anthony Francis "Anton" Furst (6 May 1944 – 24 November 1991) was an English production designer who won an Academy Award for overseeing design of Gotham City in Tim Burton's '' Batman'' (1989).Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

, who died by suicide in 1991. She was in a relationship with actor

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

from 1997 until 2003. The couple has twins conceived through

IVF In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...

, a son and daughter born January 25, 2001.

Filmography

Film

Television films

Television series

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:DAngelo, Beverly Actresses from Columbus, Ohio American women singers American film actresses American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent American people of Scottish descent American stage actresses American voice actresses Italian-American culture in Ohio Living people Singers from Ohio People from Upper Arlington, Ohio American television actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Theatre World Award winners 1951 births