| Jane Badler | |
|---|---|
 Jane Badler as Diana in V , (1983) |
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| Born | December 31 1953 Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1977-present |
| Spouse(s) | Stephen Hains |
Jane Badler (b. December 31, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York), an American actress, became well known for her role as the "Visitor" leader, Diana, in the 1983 NBC hit mini series V, its 1984 sequel V: The Final Battle and in V: The Series from 1984 to 1985. She was also known for her role as Impossible Missions Force agent Shannon Reed in the 1980s revival of the Mission: Impossible series.
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Biography
Badler spent her teen years in Great Neck, New York, moving to Manchester, New Hampshire, when she was in high school. Badler won the title Miss New Hampshire and competed at the 1973 Miss America Pageant. Subsequently, she matriculated in drama at the prestigious Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She was also the subject of a satirical nomination for the Northwestern University Homecoming Queen in 1975, which resulted in a controversy that continued to be remembered by many Northwestern alumni and alumnae who were also in the school during that period.
Career
Her first television role was on the soap opera One Life to Live as Melinda Cramer Janssen from 1977 to 1981. She returned to the role in 1983. Badler also starred on the daytime program The Doctors, portraying Natalie Bell. Badler's other TV roles included Falcon Crest as Meredith Braxton from 1986 to 1987. Her guest appearances included Riptide, Hotel, and Fantasy Island. In 1988, she played the role of Tania Winthrop in the action-adventure series program The Highwayman. She then traveled to Australia to film episodes of the 1980s revival of Mission: Impossible for its second and last season, from 1989 to 1990. After the series ended, Badler moved to Australia and married businessman Stephen Hains. They had two sons named Sam and Harry. Her later Australian television roles included Cluedo (the British and Australian name of the board game known as Clue in the United States). She also had a guest starring role in Snowy River: The McGregor Saga. In recent years, Jane forged a career in cabaret and on the stage in archy and mehitabel, based on Don Marquis's books of poetry, The Great Gatsby, The Singing Forest, Big Hair in America, and two one-woman shows, Shakin' the Blues Away and The Love Goddess: Rita Hayworth. Shakin' the Blues Away and The Love Goddess: Rita Hayworth which showcased Jane's strong, well-trained singing voice. As early as 1988, Jane was known to have expressed interest in reprising her role as Diana in a feature film based on V. Kenneth Johnson, the creator of the central characters and developer of the core format, has written a sequel called , which will be released February 2008. A TV adaptation is also planned, but it has yet to be seen if Diana will appear in either the book or the miniseries, and if Jane will reprise the role if she does.
Filmography
- V (1983)
- V: The Final Battle (1984)
- V: The Series (1984 to 1985)
- Mission: Impossible
