Marta Kristen | |
|---|---|
 Kristen as Judy Robinson inLost in Space 1965 | |
| Born | Birgit Annalisa Rusanen (1945-02-26)February 26, 1945 (age 80) Oslo, Norway |
| Other names | Martha Annalise Soderquist |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | www |
Marta Kristen (born February 26, 1945)[1] is a Norwegian-born American actress.
Kristen is best known for her role as Judy Robinson, the oldest child of Professor John Robinson and his wife, Maureen, in the television seriesLost in Space (1965–1968). Her character was a young adult, around 20 years of age.
Kristen was bornBirgit Annalisa Rusanen inOslo, Norway, to a Finnish mother and a German soldier father who was killed duringWorld War II. (Her Finnish mother gave up little Birgit to save her the pain of growing up knowing her real parents were part of the Nazi regime or Third Reich.) Birgit spent her first years in an orphanage in Norway,[2] and was then adopted in 1949 by a couple fromDetroit, Michigan, Harold Oliver Soderquist[3] and his wife, Bertha,[4] who renamed herMartha Annalise Soderquist. Her adoptive father was a professor of education atWayne University, also in Detroit.[5][6] Kristen has one brother, whom her parents also adopted.[7]
In 1959, Kristen moved to theLos Angeles area while her father was on sabbatical leave from his professorship. She remained there with a guardian and graduated fromSanta Monica High School.[5]
Reflecting her Scandinavian heritage, Kristen adopted the more European-sounding "Marta" and used Marta Kristen as her stage name.[4] She first appeared in a 1961 episode ofAlfred Hitchcock Presents, "Bang! You're Dead", alongsideBilly Mumy, who later co-starred with Kristen inLost in Space. In 1963, she starred withTony Dow in "Four Feet in the Morning," an episode ofThe Eleventh Hour, and as Peggy Meredith onMy Three Sons.
Kristen's first film role was in the 1963 Walt Disney production ofSavage Sam. She played the role of Lorelei in the 1965 movieBeach Blanket Bingo.
Kristen starred inLost in Space from its beginning in 1965 until its cancellation in 1968. Afterwards, she had a daughter, born in 1969, and appeared in more than forty television commercials as well as making numerous guest appearances on television shows. She also appeared in theA&EbiographyJonathan Harris: Never Fear, Smith Is Here in 2002.
She also made the occasional film appearance in movies such asTerminal Island (1973),Once in 1974, appearing as a bare breasted 'Humanity', and the science-fiction filmBattle Beyond the Stars (1980); and had a cameo role in the 1998 movieLost in Space. Kristen also provided voice work for the 2009 animated theatrical short "The Bolt Who Screwed Christmas" which also included voice work from herLost in Space co-stars Harris, Mumy, andAngela Cartwright.
Kristen has been married twice. Her first marriage was to Terry Treadwell, a psychologist.[8][9][7] She met her second husband, Kevin P. Kane, in 1974 and they married on November 18, 1978.[citation needed] They lived inSanta Monica, California, with tworescue dogs[10] until 2016, when Kristen announced on herFacebook page that Kane had died.[11]
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