About Me
"The most fascinating actress ever to appear
in horror films with regularity . ... Her beauty
is mysterious and unique: her large eyes, high
cheekbones, jet-black hair, thick bottom lip, and
somewhat knobby chin don't seem synchronized,
and as a result her face can be looked on as being
either evil ... or sweet." Danny Peary, "Cult Movies"The most beautiful star of the greatest horror
masterpiece of Italian film, "Black Sunday": Barbara Steele was born on December 19,
1938 in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England.
Barbara is loved by her fans for her talent,
intelligence, erotic sexuality, and a mysterious
beauty that is unique; her face epitomizes either
sweet innocence, or malign evil
(she is wonderful to watch either way).
At first, Barbara studied Chelsea Art School
of London University and Sorbona to become
a painter. In 1957, she joined an acting repertory
company. Her feature acting debut was in the
British comedy "Bachelor of Hearts" (1958).
At age 21, this strikingly lovely lady, with the
hauntingly beautiful face, large eyes, sensuous
lips and long, dark hair got her breakout role by
starring in "Black Sunday," the quintessential
Italian film about witchcraft (it was the directorial
debut for cinematographer Mario Bava; with his
background it was exquisitely photographed and
atmospheric). We got to see Barbara, but did not
hear her; her voice was dubbed by another
actress for international audiences. After its
American success, AIP brought Barbara to
America, to star in Roger Corman's "The Pit and the Pendulum" (1961);
(though the film was shot entirely in
English, again Barbara's own voice
was not used). By now, Barbara wastypecast by American audiences as ahorror star. In 1962, she answered anopen-casting call and won a role in Federico
Fellini's "8 1/2"; she only had a small butmemorable role. Reportedly Fellini wanted
to use her more in the film, but she was
contracted to leave Rome to start work on
her next horror movie, "The Horrible Dr.Hichcock" (1962). Being a slow and
meticulous director, Fellini's "8 1/2"
was not released until 1963. (Later,
when Barbara was cast in lesser roles
in lesser movies, she would tell the
directors: "I've worked with some
of the best directors in the world.
I've worked with Fellini!") More horror
movies followed, such as "The Spectre"
(1963), "Castle of Blood" (1964), "The Long Hair of Death (1964), andothers; this success led to her beingtypecast in the horror genre, where
she more often than not appeared in
Italian movies with a dubbed voice.
The nadir was appearing in "TheCrimson Cult" (1968), which was
mainly eye candy, with scantily-c
lad women in a cult. Unfortunately,
Barbara got sick of being typecast in
horror movies. One of the screen's
greatest horror stars, she said in an
interview: "I never want to climb out
of another freakin' coffin again!"
This was sad news for her legion of
horror fans; it was also a false-step
for Barbara as far as a career move.
Back in America, she met screenwriter
James Poe; they got married, and
remained together for many years.
James Poe wrote an excellent role for
Barbara in "They Shoot Horses, Don't
They?" (1969). The role ended up going
to Susannah York, and Barbara wouldn't
act in movies again for 5 years. Barbara
returned to movies in "Caged Heat" (1974)
; she was miscast: a few years before,
Barbara would have been one of thebeautiful inmates, not the wheelchair-boundwarden. In 1977, she appeared in a film by
Roger Corman, based on the true story of a
mentally ill woman, "I Never Promised You a
Rose Garden." Unfortunately, her scenes
wound up on the cutting room floor.
Again, trying anything but horror,
Barbara appeared in "Pretty Baby"
(1978), but she was in the background
the whole time, and her talents wasted.
Barbara would appear in 2 more
unmemorable movies. She and James
Poe got divorced, (he died a few
years later). Barbara did "Silent
Scream" (1980). Maybe because
her ex-husband was now dead, or
because her acting career was going
nowhere, Barbara retired from acting
for a decade. However, she had a lot
of success as a producer. She was
an associate producer for the TV
mini-series "The Winds of War"
(1983), and produced "War and
Remembrance" (1989), for which
she got an Emmy award. Her horrorfans were delighted when Barbara
showed up again, this time on TV in
"Dark Shadows" (1991), a revival
of the beloved 1960s supernatural
soap. The still-lovely Barbara acts
occasionally, her latest film was "
The Capitol Conspiracy" (1999).Even past 60, Barbara is still beautifuland her fans love her. Barbara Steele
biography provided by Klaus D. Haisch
