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Liane Alexandra Curtis (born July 11, 1965) is an
American film The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Ame ...
and television actress and musician, known for her appearances in
B movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...
as '' Critters 2: The Main Course'' and '' Girlfriend from Hell'', as well as smaller roles in films such as ''
Sixteen Candles ''Sixteen Candles'' is a 1984 American coming-of-age comedy film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling, and Anthony Michael Hall. Written and directed by John Hughes in his directorial debut, it was the first in a string of films Hughes ...
''.''Who's Who in Hollywood'' (revised edition, Curtis is in Vol. 1 of 2), by David Ragan,
Facts on File Infobase Publishing is an American publisher of reference book titles and textbooks geared towards the North American library, secondary school, and university-level curriculum markets. Infobase operates a number of prominent imprints, including ...
(1992);


Early life

Liane Alexandra Curtis was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. She attended the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City. Curtis' parents, Jack Curtis (1926–1970) and Paulette Rubinstein (maiden; born 1923) did many voices for the U.S. dubs of Japanese sci-fi films and TV series. Jack and Paulette married December 31, 1964. Jack was a
voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
for characters that included Pops Racer and Inspector Detector for the
Japanese anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
series ''
Speed Racer ''Speed Racer'', also known as , is a Japanese media franchise about Auto racing, automobile racing. ''Mach GoGoGo'' was originally serialized in print in Shueisha's 1966 ''Shōnen Book''. It was released in tankōbon book form by Sun W ...
'' in 1967 as well as a director and producer of ''
The Flesh Eaters The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardi ...
'' in 1964. Paulette was an actress as well as screenwriter and
songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
and has performed with
Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...
in ''
The Seven Year Itch ''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay he co-wrote with George Axelrod from the 1952 three-act play. The film stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, who reprised his stage role. ...
'' (early 1950s) and with Julie Andrews in '' The Boy Friend'' (1954). Paulette was also known as Paulette Girard. From about 1951 about 1956, she was married to jazz accordionist
Mat Mathews Mat Mathews, born Mathieu Hubert Wijnandts Schwarts (June 18, 1924 – February 12, 2009), was a Dutch jazz accordionist. Early life Mathews was born in The Hague and learned to play accordion while the Netherlands was still under the Nazi r ...
(1924–2009). Curtis's paternal grandmother, Mabel Curtis ''(née'' Ford; 1888–1982), the third wife (of three) of her paternal grandfather, Jack Curtis ''(né'' Jacob Zinn; born 1880), was a popular tap dancer in a quartet of four sisters known then as The Four Fords. Curtis's father's first wife, Anna Chandler (1879–1957), was a widely known vaudeville actress and mezzo-soprano. Curtis's cousin,
Roy Benson Roy Benson (January 17, 1914 – December 6, 1977) was a stage magic (illusion), magician born in Courbevoie in France. He was an accomplished musician. He is credited for Special Effects, having created the monster for the film ''The Flesh E ...
(January 17, 1914 – December 6, 1977) was a stage magician born in Courbevoie in France. Just like the rest of the family Benson was also an accomplished musician. He is credited for Special Effects, having created the monster for the film ''
The Flesh Eaters The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardi ...
'' (1964) directed by Liane's father, Jack Curtis. Benson was very respected among his peers.


Career

Curtis' feature film debut was ''
Baby It's You "Baby It's You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music), Luther Dixon (credited as Barney Williams), and Mack David (lyrics). It was recorded by the Shirelles and the Beatles, and was a hit for both. The highest-charting version of "Baby I ...
'' directed by
John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for ''Passion Fish'' (1992) and '' ...
. Curtis founded Vulcan A Productions in 2005, located in Los Angeles, to produce and distribute feature films, reality and scripted television. She also co-owned the
production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...
oy-oy-click-click.com (inactive as of 2010) with Kathy Messick which they formed in 2004 in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...
. In 2006, she formed Mackenzie Group Entertainment, Inc., with her husband, Timothy J Mackenzie, a now suspended California corporation. The company had worked with USO San Diego as Special Event producers and also manage a few artists.


Personal life

Curtis is married to Timothy J. Mackenzie on March 21, 1999. They have three children. The youngest, Jacqueline MacKenzie (born 1999), whom she had with Mackenzie, is a vocal artist who appeared as a contestant on ''American Idol''s Season 14.


TV and filmography

* ''
Baby It's You "Baby It's You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music), Luther Dixon (credited as Barney Williams), and Mack David (lyrics). It was recorded by the Shirelles and the Beatles, and was a hit for both. The highest-charting version of "Baby I ...
'' (1983) as Jody, High School Girl * ''
Sixteen Candles ''Sixteen Candles'' is a 1984 American coming-of-age comedy film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling, and Anthony Michael Hall. Written and directed by John Hughes in his directorial debut, it was the first in a string of films Hughes ...
'' (1984) as Randy * ''
The Brother from Another Planet ''The Brother from Another Planet'' is a 1984 American science fiction film, written and directed by John Sayles. The low-budget film stars Joe Morton as an extraterrestrial trapped on Earth. Plot A mute space alien crash-lands his ship on Elli ...
'' (1984) as Ace * '' Hard Choices'' (1985) (uncredited) as Maureen * '' The Best Times'' (1985) TV series as Annette Dimetriano * '' The Equalizer'' as Elaine (1 episode, 1987) * '' Married... with Children'' as Debbie (1 episode, 1987) * ''
21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...
'' as Lauren Carlson (1 episode, 1987) * '' Knots Landing'' as Young Karen (1 episode, 1987) * ''
Kenny Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names. In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish ''Ó Cionnaith'', also spelt ''Ó Cionnaoith'' and ''Ó Cionaodha'', meaning "descendant of Cionnaith" ...
'' (1988) .... Sharon Kay * '' The Bronx Zoo'' as Joanie Barris (1 episode, 1988) * '' Critters 2: The Main Course'' (1988) as Megan Morgan * '' Girlfriend from Hell'' (1989) as Maggie * '' Kojak: None So Blind'' (1990) (TV) as Lorraine * '' WIOU'' as Trudy (10 episodes, 1990–1991) * ''
Queens Logic ''Queens Logic'' is a 1991 American ensemble coming-of-age comedy-drama film from Seven Arts Pictures starring Kevin Bacon, Linda Fiorentino, Joe Mantegna, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Malkovich, Ken Olin, Chloe Webb and Tom Waits. It was directed by ...
'' (1991) as Cashier * '' Reason for Living: The Jill Ireland Story'' (1991) (TV) as Lori * ''
Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever ''Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever'' is a 1991 musical comedy film and sequel to the 1979 film ''Rock 'n' Roll High School''. The film stars Corey Feldman, Mary Woronov, and Sarah Buxton. Plot The movie begins on May 14, also known as ''Rock ...
'' (1991) as Stella * '' Wild Orchid II: Two Shades of Blue'' (1991) as Mona * '' Exclusive'' (1992) (TV) as Carol * ''
Benny & Joon ''Benny & Joon'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about how two eccentric individuals, Sam ( Johnny Depp) and Juniper "Joon" (Mary Stuart Masterson), find each other and fall in love. Aidan Quinn also s ...
'' (1993) as Claudia * '' Erotique'' (1994) as Murohy (segment "Let's Talk About Love") * '' Trial by Fire'' (1995) (TV) as Doreen * '' Soundman'' (1998) as Kate * '' ER'' as Mrs. Shayotovich, Fossen's Neighbor (2 episodes, 2001) * ''
The Failures ''The Failures'' is a 2003 film directed by Tim Hunter. It stars Ashley Johnson and Chad Lindberg. It won three awards in 2003 and 2004. Cast * Ashley Johnson as Lilly Kyle *Chad Lindberg as William *Seth Adkins as Sam Kyle *Claudia Christian as ...
'' (2003) as Samantha Kyle * ''
Threat Matrix ''Threat Matrix'' is an American drama television series created by Daniel Voll that aired on ABC from September 18, 2003 to January 29, 2004 which lasted 16 episodes. The plot consisted of the events in a United States Homeland Security anti-t ...
'' as Counter Waitress (1 episode, 2003) * '' Line of Fire'' as Hooker 2 (1 episode, 2003) * ''Have Love, Will Travel'' (2007) as Beverly * '' Sons of Anarchy'' as April (1 episode, 2008) * '' Angel Falls in Love'' as Aunt CoCo (2011)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Liane 1965 births American film actresses American television actresses Living people 21st-century American women