Olivia Barash (born January 11, 1965) is an American actress. She began her career as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...

, appearing in television series such as ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...

'', ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aa ...

'', and ''

Soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

''. She subsequently had a lead role on the short-lived sitcom '' In the Beginning'', which originally aired in 1978. She also had a lead role in the

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

television film '' Child of Glass'' (1978). As a young adult, Barash established herself in supporting film roles in '' Repo Man'' (1984), ''

Tuff Turf ''Tuff Turf'' is a 1985 American drama film directed by Fritz Kiersch and starring James Spader and Kim Richards. The film was released in the United States on January 11, 1985. Plot Morgan Hiller (Spader) is an intelligent but bullied teenager ...

'' (1985), ''

Patty Hearst Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was found a ...

'' (1988), and '' Floundering'' (1994).

Biography

Early life and performances

Barash was born January 11, 1965, in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. Barash was raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and began acting professionally at age 11. During her early years of acting, singing and dancing in classic musicals on stage in New York, she starred as "Baby June" in ''

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'' with

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

. She was the first child actress to win the New York Critic's Circle Award. Moving to Hollywood as a teen with her family, she attended Palisades High School in

Pacific Palisades, California Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside Los Angeles, Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Chautauqua, Methodist organization, an ...

, and graduated in 1982. Barash appeared in the pilot episode of ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'', aping the famous "flower girl" scene from

James Whale James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: ''Fran ...

's ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

''. In this version, she befriends the Hulk, but their friendship is cut short by her hunter father, who shoots the Hulk with a rifle, causing the Hulk to hurl him hundreds of feet into a nearby lake. Barash also appeared as a guest in two episodes of ''

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' is an American satirical soap opera that aired in daily weeknight syndication from January 1976 to July 1977. The series follows the titular Mary Hartman, an Ohio housewife attempting to cope with various bizarre ...

'' in 1977, and in 1978, was cast in a main role on the sitcom '' In the Beginning'', which followed a conservative Catholic priest and liberal, socially-conscious

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

who run a mission in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

; the series ran only five episodes on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, though a total of nine were filmed before the series was canceled. The same year, she starred in the

television film '' Child of Glass'', in which she portrayed the ghost of a young girl murdered during the Antebellum era.

Later career

In 1984, Barash appeared in '' Repo Man'', in which she had a supporting role playing a UFO cultist. The following year, she appeared opposite

Robert Downey, Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...

James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor. He has portrayed eccentric characters in films such as the drama ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, the action scien ...

and

Kim Richards Kim Erica Richards (born September 19, 1964) is an American actress, socialite, and television personality. She began her career as a child actress, and rose to prominence from her roles in '' Nanny and the Professor'', '' Escape to Witch Mount ...

in the teen drama ''

'' (1985). In 1987, Barash had a main supporting role in the television series '' Fame'', playing Maxie Sharp. In 1988, she had a supporting role in

Paul Schrader Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...

's biopic ''

''. In 1990, Oliver Stone wrote Barash into ''

The Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

'' portraying a folksinger on the Sunset Strip, performing her original song, '' Who's Walking Away'' published by It's True You Boys Music (BMI). Barash went on to sign to

Warner Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

as a songwriter/artist in 1992. Her focus shifted to recording and playing her music through the nineties and into this century.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barash, Olivia American film actresses American child actresses American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Miami Actresses from New York City 1965 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses