Elizabeth "Betsy" Russell (born September 6, 1963) is an American actress who is best known for her roles in ''

Private School Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

'' (1983), ''

Tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...

'' (1985), and as Jill Tuck, one of the primary characters of the ''Saw'' film series from 2006 to 2010.

Early life

Russell was born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, the daughter of Constance (''née'' Lerner) and Richard Lion Russell, a stock analyst, and the granddaughter of journalist and educator

Max Lerner Max Lerner (December 20, 1902 – June 5, 1992) was a Russian Empire-born American journalist and educator known for his controversial syndicated column. Background Maxwell Alan Lerner was born on December 20, 1902 in Minsk, in the Russian Empi ...

. Her father and maternal grandfather were

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Russell wanted to be an actress since the age of eight and started acting in school plays. She appeared in a

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

commercial that was taped locally while in high school. After graduating from

Mission Bay High School Mission Bay High School (MBHS), is a public high school located in the San Diego, California community of Pacific Beach. It is a magnet school with emphasis on Academic Studies. In Fall 2006, Mission Bay introduced International Baccalaureate c ...

in 1981, she moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and began taking acting classes before landing her first role. She did a masters program in Spiritual Psychology at the

University of Santa Monica The University of Santa Monica is a private unaccredited graduate school in Santa Monica, California, offering masters of arts in spiritual psychology. History The university was founded in March 1976 by Roger Delano Hinkins, an educator, au ...

and is a certified hypnotist and life coach, also from the University of Santa Monica.

Career

Russell's first role was in the 1982 film ''Let's Do It!'' That same year, she landed roles on ''

T. J. Hooker ''T. J. Hooker'' is an American police drama television program starring William Shatner in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant. The series premiered as a mid-season replacement on March 13, 1982, on ABC and ran on the network un ...

'', ''

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States f ...

'', and ''

The Powers of Matthew Star ''The Powers of Matthew Star'' is an American sci-fi television series that aired on NBC on Friday evenings from September 17, 1982 until April 8, 1983. It starred Peter Barton as the title character, the alien prince Matthew "E'Hawke" Star of ...

''. In 1983, Russell's breakout role came as Jordan Leigh-Jensen in the

sex comedy Sex comedy, erotic comedy or more broadly sexual comedy is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sex comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary works such ...

''. While shooting the action film '' Avenging Angel'', she was offered to audition for the 1985 film '' Silverado'' but turned it down. She said in an interview, "Everything happens for a reason. I always believe my career would have been different had I done that part. I can't say if it would have been better or worse. I’ve had a great run." She went on to star in a series of B movies in the 1980s, including the comedy ''

'' and the slasher film ''

Cheerleader Camp ''Cheerleader Camp'' (originally titled ''Bloody Pom Poms'') is a 1988 American slasher film produced and directed by John Quinn in his directorial debut. It stars Betsy Russell, Leif Garrett, Lucinda Dickey, and Lorie Griffin. The film follows ...

''. Russell also appeared on TV series such as ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court marti ...

'', ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'', '' 1st & Ten'', and an episode of ''

Superboy Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...

'', which was a reunion with her ''Tomboy'' co-star

Gerard Christopher Gerard Christopher (born May 11, 1959 in New York City) is an American actor, writer and producer. He was the second actor to play the eponymous role in the television series ''Superboy'' (from 1989 to 1992), replacing John Haymes Newton who pla ...

. After a brief retirement from acting, Russell appeared in a small role in ''

Saw III ''Saw III'' is a 2006 horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and a story by Whannell and James Wan. It is the third installment in the ''Saw'' film series and sequel to 2005's ''Saw II''. The film stars ...

'' playing John Kramer's ex-wife, Jill Tuck. She went on to star in the sequels, ''

Saw IV ''Saw IV'' is a 2007 horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, and a story by Melton, Dunstan, and Thomas Fenton. It is the fourth installment in the ''Saw'' film series and sequel to 2 ...

'', ''

Saw V ''Saw V'' is a 2008 horror film directed by David Hackl, in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the fifth installment in the ''Saw'' film series and sequel to 2007's ''Saw IV''. The film stars T ...

'', ''

Saw VI ''Saw VI'' is a 2009 horror film directed by Kevin Greutert, in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sequel to 2008's ''Saw V'' and sixth installment in the ''Saw'' film series. The fil ...

'', and ''

Saw 3D ''Saw 3D'' (also known as ''Saw: The Final Chapter'') is a 2010 American 3D horror film directed by Kevin Greutert and written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sequel to 2009's ''Saw VI'' and seventh installment in the ''Saw'' ...

''. She played a role in the 2010 film ''

Chain Letter A chain letter is a message that attempts to convince the recipient to make a number of copies and pass them on to a certain number of recipients. The "chain" is an exponentially growing pyramid (a tree graph) that cannot be sustained indefinite ...

'', the

SyFy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

film ''Mandrake'', and '' My Trip Back to the Dark Side''.

Personal life

Russell resides in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malibu ...

. In August 1988, Russell was engaged to actor

Vincent Van Patten Vincent Van Patten (born October 17, 1957) is an American actor, former professional tennis player, and the commentator for the World Poker Tour. Personal life Van Patten was born in Bellerose, New York, as the youngest son of actor Dick Van P ...

, son of

Dick Van Patten Richard Vincent Van Patten (December 9, 1928 – June 23, 2015) was an American actor, comedian, businessman, and animal welfare advocate, whose career spanned seven decades of television. He was best known for his role as patriarch Tom Brad ...

. They were married nine months later on May 27, 1989, in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

. Their wedding reception was at Van Patten's father's

Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

home which was attended by numerous A-list celebrities. They divorced in 2001 and have two sons: Richard Van Patten (March 1993) and Vincent Van Patten, Jr. (September 3, 1995) Russell was previously engaged to film producer

Mark Burg Mark Burg is an American film producer, manager and actor. He is the co-founder of Evolution Entertainment and produced the ''Saw'' film series as well as the CBS television series ''Two and a Half Men''. Biography Burg graduated from the Roy ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Betsy 1963 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from San Diego American film actresses American people of Russian-Jewish descent American television actresses Jewish American actresses University of Santa Monica alumni Van Patten family 21st-century American Jews