Kristen Vigard | |
|---|---|
 Kristen Vigard in 1981 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1963-05-15)May 15, 1963 (age 61) St. Paul, Minnesota, USA |
| Origin | New York City |
| Genres | Rock, alternative |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, actor |
| Instrument | Voice |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Labels | Private Music |
| Formerly of | Red Hot Chili Peppers Fishbone New White Trash |
Kristen Vigard (born May 15, 1963) is an American actress and singer. She is known for being the first actress to play the title role inAnnie in its pre-Broadway run and for her two-year run as Morgan Richards onGuiding Light (1980–81). She also had a two-year run onOne Life to Live (1984–85).
Vigard has appeared in two feature films,The Black Stallion (1979) andThe Survivors (1983). Additionally she had roles in two TV movies,Home to Stay (1978) andLicense to Kill (1984), and also had guest appearances on three TV series.
Kristen Vigard released her eponymous debut album in 1988.[1] She recorded and toured as a backup singer with theRed Hot Chili Peppers andFishbone in the late 1980s and early 1990s, appearing on RHCP'sMother's Milk (1989) andOne Hot Minute (1995) and Fishbone'sThe Reality of My Surroundings (1991) andGive a Monkey a Brain (1993).
Vigard sang the lead vocals forIlleana Douglas for the 1996 filmGrace of My Heart,[2][3] including "God Give Me Strength", which was nominated for Best Original Song at the1st Golden Satellite Awards.
She released her second album,God, Loves and Angels[4] in 2004. More recently, she was a founding member of the downtempo acoustic rock bandNew White Trash, which released three albums between 2011 and 2014.
Vigard was born on May 15, 1963, inSt. Paul, Minnesota,[5] the daughter of actress Mallory Millett Danaher[6] and Ronald Vigard, who worked for3M.[7] In the late 1960s, she moved with her family to New York City where she made her acting debut at the age of 6.[7] She was one of the first clients to be signed to the children's division of theFord Modeling Agency, along withBrooke Shields andRicky Schroder.[7]
Vigard went to high school atFriends Seminary in Manhattan. She then studied classical orchestration and music listening at theJuilliard School of Music Extension Program.[7]
Vigard's debut stage role was in 1970 when she worked withLa MaMa Experimental Theatre Club,[8] appearing inA Cheap Trick,[5][9] playing a carrot in a production starringHolly Woodlawn,Candy Darling andJackie Curtis.[7] This was followed by a role in100 Miles from Nowhere, and she appeared withRuby Dee inThe Wedding Band in 1972.[5] Vigard continued performing in theatre, appearing in additional productions withJoanne Woodward andShirley Knight.
In 1976, she created the title role in the musicalAnnie at theGoodspeed Opera House inEast Haddam, Connecticut. However, the producers soon decided that Vigard's genuinely sweet interpretation was not tough enough for the street-smart character. After a week of performances, Vigard was replaced byAndrea McArdle, who played one of the orphans.[10][11] Vigard later went on to become McArdle's Broadway understudy.[12]
In 1977, Vigard played "Crissy" in the short-livedBroadway revival ofHair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical. Though the show met with mostly negative reviews, Vigard received some of the best notices.The New York Times wrote, "The very best song of all, and perhaps the best performance as well, is Miss Vigard in the stony and touching saga of a teenybopper, 'Frank Mills.' Miss Vigard looks like an ancient 12-year-old; she sings in a clear, clean style that cuts most satisfyingly through the general lushness."[13]Newsweek noted, "Angel-faced Kristen Vigard is the nicest of [the] cast."[14]
In May 1979, she returned to Broadway as Johanne inMartin Charnin andThomas Meehan'sI Remember Mama withLiv Ullmann.[12] Although the show was the last musical to be written byRichard Rodgers, it received mixed reviews.
Vigard made her television debut alongsideHenry Fonda in the 1978 TV movieHome to Stay.[15] In 1980, Vigard was cast as Morgan Richards on the daytime soap operaGuiding Light. That same year, she appeared on the cover ofPeople as one of the "Torrid Teens on the Soaps".[16] She remained on the show for two years.[17]
Vigard made her film debut in the 1979 film,The Black Stallion.[18] In 1983, she appeared in her first major screen role alongsideRobin Williams, playingWalter Matthau's daughter inThe Survivors. Although the film itself was panned by critics,People magazine described Vigard's performance as "appealing."[19]
She continued her work on television in a 1983 episode ofFame, a 1984 TV movieLicense to Kill, a two-year stint onOne Life to Live asJoy O'Neill from 1984 to 1985, a 1986 episode ofThe Equalizer, and a 1987 episode ofAmazing Stories.[20]
Vigard then pursued a music career, initially singing solo in Paris subway stations before joining the underground music scene in Los Angeles.[6] In the late 1980s and early 1990s she recorded and toured as a backup singer with theRed Hot Chili Peppers andFishbone,[17] appearing on the former'sMother's Milk (1989)[21] andOne Hot Minute (1995)[22] and Fishbone'sThe Reality of My Surroundings (1991)[23] andGive a Monkey a Brain and He'll Swear He's the Center of the Universe (1993).[24]
In 1988, she released hereponymous debut album on thePrivate Music label.[1] It was chosen as one of the top 100 albums of the year byPlayboy and reached theBillboard Top 30. Reviewer Tim Marklein ofThe Stanford Daily gave the album an "A+" and compared her toPaul Simon, writing that "Twenty-six year old Kristen Vigard may look young, but her debut album shows that she has as much experience merging different forms of music as Paul Simon."[6]
In 1996, she sang the lead vocals forIlleana Douglas for the filmGrace of My Heart.[25][26][27] Vigard's second album,God, Loves and Angels,[4] released in 2004, includes Vigard's performance of "God Give Me Strength", which was not included on thesoundtrack CD.
From 2009 through 2013, Vigard was a member of the bandNew White Trash, a downtempo acoustic rock band. Vigard was a founding member,[28] along withMichael C. Ruppert, drummerAndy Kravitz, and guitarist Doug Lewis.[29] The band released two albums,Doublewide (2011)[30] andAge of Authority (2013).[31][32] Following Ruppert's suicide in 2014, the band announced its intention to release a tribute album.[32]Beyond the Rubicon was released on December 11, 2014.[33]
Vigard lives with her husband and her daughter inTaos, New Mexico,[12] where she has appeared in local plays.[34]
Vigard's short-lived role asAnnie is mentioned in the 2008 filmPhoebe in Wonderland.[35]
