Stefanie Powers | |
|---|---|
 Powers in 1998 | |
| Born | Stefania Zofya Paul (1942-11-02)November 2, 1942 (age 83) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Taffy Paul |
| Education | Hollywood High School |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1958–present |
| Known for | |
| Spouses | |
| Partners |
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Stefanie Powers (born November 2, 1942)[1] is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television seriesHart to Hart, for which she received nominations for twoPrimetime Emmy Awards and fiveGolden Globe Awards.
Powers was born on November 2, 1942, inHollywood as Stefania Zofya Paul,[2] but her surname often was cited as Federkiewicz.[3][4] In her Polish-language autobiography, Powers says, "Moje prawdziwe nazwisko to Federkiewicz", which translates to, "My real [Polish] name is Federkiewicz".[5] At the age of 16, she was put under studio contract with Columbia Pictures, and as was the movie-industry custom in those days, a name change to the more Anglo-Saxon-sounding "Stefanie Powers" was part of the deal.[6]
Her parents divorced during her childhood. Powers' father, Morrison Bloomfield Paul (1909–1993), reportedly a cinematographer,[7] was born inMontreal to a Jewish immigrant family from Eastern Europe. Powers was estranged from her father, whom she barely refers to and whose name is never mentioned in her memoirOne from the Hart, in which she refers to the "tension and unhappiness created by my father's presence".[8] She remained very close throughout her life to her mother, who was born Juliana Dimitria Golan (1912–2009) on a farm nearMiddletown, New York to Catholic parents of Polish descent.[9] Her mother, who died in Los Angeles from pneumonia at 96 years of age,[10] was known late in life and in local obituaries as Julie Powers. Stefanie Powers had an older brother, Jeffrey Julian Paul[11][12] (1940–2013), ofOrangevale, California, as well as a half-sister, Diane Pascoe Hanson Baillie, who died in 2000.[10][13] Powers was a pom pom girl[14] atHollywood High School and on the swim team.
In 1961, using the stage nameTaffy Paul, Powers madeTom Laughlin's independent filmThe Young Sinner, released in 1965.
Powers appeared in secondary roles in several movies in the early 1960s, such asExperiment in Terror (1962),If a Man Answers (1962), andMcLintock! (1963). She played a schoolgirl inTammy Tell Me True (1961), and Bunny, the police chief's daughter, inPalm Springs Weekend (1963). She appeared in the 1962 hospital melodramaThe Interns and its sequelThe New Interns in 1964. In 1965, she played oppositeTallulah Bankhead inDie! Die! My Darling (originally released in the UK asFanatic).[15]
In 1966, her "tempestuous" good looks led to being cast in the starring role as the passive and demure April Dancer, in the short-lived television seriesThe Girl from U.N.C.L.E., a spin-off ofThe Man from U.N.C.L.E. Shortly after the series' debut, she was featured on the cover ofTV Guide (December 31, 1966 – January 6, 1967). The article mentions her "117-pound frame is kept supple with 11 minutes ofRoyal Canadian Air Force exercises every morning... Unlike her fellow U.N.C.L.E. agents, the ladylike April is not required to kill the bad guys. Her feminine charms serve as the bait, while her partnerNoel Harrison provides the fireworks." The series lasted for only one season (29 one-hour episodes), airing from September 16, 1966, to April 11, 1967.[15]
In 1967, Powers appeared inWarning Shot withDavid Janssen. Her 1970s movies includeThe Boatniks (1970),Herbie Rides Again (a sequel toThe Love Bug) andThe Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972). She was a guest star in theRobert Wagner seriesIt Takes a Thief in 1970. The two co-starred in the popularHart to Hart series nine years later. Before success withHart to Hart, she starred inThe Feather and Father Gang as Toni "Feather" Danton, a successful lawyer, whose father, Harry Danton, was a smooth-talking ex-con man (played byHarold Gould). It ran for a half-season (13 episodes).[15]
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Powers' many guest roles in other popular TV shows includeLancer (1969),McCloud (1971),The Mod Squad (1972),Banacek (1972),Kung Fu (1974),The Rockford Files (1975),Three for the Road (1975),The Six Million Dollar Man (1976),The Bionic Woman (1976), andMcMillan & Wife (1977). Powers appeared in these shows long after she signed a contract withUniversal Studios in 1970. Coincidentally, her longtime friend andHart to Hart series co-star Wagner signed a contract with Universal, but did not guest-star in more shows than Powers did.[15]
In 1977, Powers played Sally Whalen in the six-part television miniseriesWashington: Behind Closed Doors, produced byParamount Television. It is based onJohn Ehrlichman's bookThe Company, a novel inspired by the author's time with theNixon administration. The series also starredCliff Robertson,Jason Robards,Robert Vaughn,Lois Nettleton, andJohn Houseman.[16]
In 1978, Powers starred with Paul Clemens andBrian Dennehy in the TV movieA Death in Canaan, directed byTony Richardson. This TV movie was a dramatization of the nonfictional account of Connecticut townspeople rising to the defense of a local teenager charged with the mutilation murder of his mother in September 1973. Powers portrayed Joan Barthel, a freelance‐writer who brought attention to the original case.[17] Clemens, son of actress Eleanor Parker, made his film acting debut here. The TV movie also marked the American TV directing debut of Richardson, and was Emmy Award-nominated as Outstanding Special of the 1977–78 season.[18]
In 1978, Powers andStacy Keach were the leads in the stage playCyrano de Bergerac in a season at the Central Theater in theLong Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. Directed by Rae Allen, the production was part of an eight-month Long Beach Theater Festival program. The stage production was intended to transfer to Broadway after its California season; however, the bi-coastal run was not extended due to the1978 New York City newspaper strike of 88 days, which hindered all theatre advertising and reduced box-office sales of the new fall season.[19][20][21]
In 1979, Powers starred withRoger Moore,David Niven,Telly Savalas,Claudia Cardinale, andElliott Gould, in the feature filmEscape to Athena, in which a group of Anglo-American prisoners of the Germans scramble to liberate themselves and some Greek art treasures, shot on location in theDodecanese islands of Greece in 1978.[22] This was Powers’ last theatrical film untilThe Artist's Wife in 2019, in which she played performance artist Ada Risi.[23][24]
Powers became most widely known as a television star for her role as Jennifer Hart in the American mystery seriesHart to Hart, withRobert Wagner as Jonathan Hart, in which they portray a married couple who continually get mixed up in mysterious and/or criminal occurrences that they then solve usually without the assistance of the police.Hart to Hart aired for five seasons from 1979 to 1984.[25] Powers and Wagner later reunited for eightHart to Hart TV movies in the 1990s.[26]
In 1984, she starred in the TV mini-seriesMistral's Daughter, based onJudith Krantz's novel.[27]
In 1985, Powers starred as twins who swap places leading to dire consequences in the two-part TV movieDeceptions.[28]
In 1987, she starred in the real-life TV dramaAt Mother's Request as the frightening Frances Schreuder, who goaded her 17-year-old-son into killing her father. The script was adapted for television by Richard DeLong Adams and aired on CBS, directed by Michael Tuchner.[29]
Powers starred withJohn Barrowman inMatador, a 1991 London stage musical, at the Queen's Theater. with a book inspired by Spanish corrida legendEl Cordobés. The production was staged by Elijah Moshinsky for producer Laurence Myers, with choreography by Arlene Phillips and Rafael Aguilar, and scenery by William Dudley.[30]
Powers starred with Robert Wagner in the 1993 stage productionLove Letters at the Chicago Theatre. The two portrayed Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, telling the story of their 40-year, mostly long-distance relationship without getting up from their chairs.[31][32]
In 1996, Powers toured asMargo Channing in a production ofApplause, with hopes of a Broadway revival, which did not materialize.[33]
Powers toured the UK in 2002 playingAnna Leonowens in a revival ofThe King and I,[34] and toured the U.S. in 2004 and 2005 in the same role.[35]
Powers released her debut music CD in 2003, titledOn The Same Page. The album features selections from the classic Great American Songbook era.[36]
Since 2006, she has been the U.S. location guest-host presenter of the long-runningThrough the Keyhole panel show.[citation needed]
In 2001, she appeared in the BBC's popular long-running British medical dramaDoctors asJane Powers,[citation needed] a wealthy businesswoman, and the mother ofDr. Caroline Powers (Jacqueline Leonard). Jane Powers, after being widowed, was due to marry her much younger fiancéDavid Wilde, but in the lead-up to the wedding, her daughter and fiancé David fell in love and ran off together. Her last appearance was on June 1, 2001.[37]
On April 30, 2008, she was reunited with Wagner for the filming of a specialHart to Hart edition of the BBC'sThe Graham Norton Show.[38]
Powers was a contestant in the reality TV show11th series ofI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, in which celebrities retreat into the jungle. She was the first celebrity to be eliminated on November 25, 2011.[39][40]
Powers started a tour ofLooped, a stage play about her former co-starTallulah Bankhead in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 26, 2013.[41]
Powers starred in the musicalGotta Dance, which premiered in Chicago in December 2015 through January 2016. The show also starredGeorgia Engel,Lillias White, andAndre DeShields. The musical was directed and choreographed byJerry Mitchell, with a book byChad Beguelin andBob Martin, and the score byMatthew Sklar and Nell Benjamin.[42]
In November 2017, it was announced that Powers had joined the cast for a developmental reading ofLove Affair, a musical with book, music and lyrics by Joseph J. Simeone, based on the 1939 film of the same name. The developmental reading of the musical is being produced by Open Jar Productions as part of their New Works Initiative on November 17, 2017, for an industry-only presentation at the Pershing Square Signature Center.[43]
In 2018, Powers co-starred in the feature filmThe Artist's Wife alongside lead actorsBruce Dern andLena Olin. The film's plot centers on Claire (Olin), wife of famed artist Richard Smythson (Dern) and once a promising artist herself, who has been living in the shadow of her husband's illustrious career. Whilst preparing work for a new exhibition after a long absence from the art world, Richard is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Directed by Tom Dolby, the film was released by Strand Releasing in 2020.[44][45]
In May 2018,Cambridge Arts Theatre announced the casting for the United Kingdom stage tour production ofJames Roose-Evans' adaptation ofHelene Hanff's novel84 Charing Cross Road, in collaboration with Lee Dean andSalisbury Playhouse.84 Charing Cross Road, first published in 1970, is a bittersweet comedy based on the extraordinary true story of the remarkable relationship that developed over 20 years, chronicling New York writer Hanff's correspondence withFrank Doel, the chief buyer forMarks & Co, a London bookshop. In the stage production, Powers portraysHelene Hanff, andClive Francis portraysFrank Doel. The production opened at Darlington Hippodrome on Wednesday 23 May, then toured to Wolverhampton, Malvern, Richmond, Oxford and finishing at Cambridge Arts Theatre on 30 June 2018.[46][47][48]
For her role as Jennifer Hart, Powers received twoEmmy Best Television Actress nominations, and fiveGolden Globe Award Best Television Actress nominations.[49]
In 1992, Powers was a recipient of a Star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6776 Hollywood Boulevard, category 'Television', presented by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.[50]
Powers was awarded theSarah Siddons Award in 1993 for her stage performance inLove Letters.[31]
On March 12, 2011, Powers received theSteiger Award (Germany) for accomplishment in the arts.[51]
On November 6, 2017, Powers was honored by the Palm Springs Women in Film & Television Organisation (PSWIFT) with the "9th Annual Broken Glass Award" for her work as an actress, author and animal advocate.[52] PSWIFT presents this award to outstanding women from the film and television industry who have "broken through the glass ceiling" in the field of entertainment, the arts and philanthropy. Other 2017 Award recipients included actressLucie Arnaz, President of LA-SAG-AFTRA Jane Austin, TV executive producer, writer and actress Kellee McQuinn, andPalm Springs, California community philanthropist Nelda Linsk. PSWIFT is a non-profit organization founded in 2001, dedicated to promoting both men and women in the entertainment, new media and creative arts community.[53]
Powers was married to actorGary Lockwood from 1966 to 1972. She had a relationship with actorWilliam Holden from just after her divorce to just before his death that led to their joint involvement withwildlife conservation.[54][55] She described the relationship by saying they were soulmates.[56] He died in 1981; by the following year, Powers wasfounding President of theWilliam Holden Wildlife Foundation and adirector of theMount Kenya Game Ranch and Wildlife Conservancy inNanyuki, Kenya. In the United States, she works with both theCincinnati Zoo andAtlanta Zoo. She devotes a great deal of time to the cause and is an international guest speaker onwildlife preservation.[57][58][5]
Powers campaigned forRobert F. Kennedy during his 1968 presidential campaign.[59]
On April 1, 1993, she married French aristocrat Patrick Houitte de La Chesnais[60][61] (born May 7, 1951,Versailles, France); the couple divorced in 1999. The following year, Powers began a relationship with auditor Tom Carroll, which lasted until his death in August 2014.[62]
Apolo player, she was among the first foreign members of the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club, whose membership includesKing Charles III. In 2005, she competed in the Joules United Kingdom National Women's Championships atAscot.[63]
In November 2008, Powers, who was a smoker for 20 years, was diagnosed withalveolar cell carcinoma, a form of lung cancer.[64] She had surgery to remove part of her right lung on January 29, 2009, the same month her mother died of pneumonia, aged 96, in Los Angeles.[10]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Tammy Tell Me True | Kay | |
| 1962 | If a Man Answers | Tina | |
| Experiment in Terror | Toby Sherwood | ||
| The Interns | Gloria Mead | ||
| 1963 | Palm Springs Weekend | Bunny Dixon | |
| McLintock! | Becky McLintock | ||
| 1964 | The New Interns | Gloria Worship | |
| 1965 | The Young Sinner | Ginny Miller | |
| Love Has Many Faces | Carol Lambert | ||
| Die! Die! My Darling! | Pat Carroll | a.k.a.Fanatic | |
| 1966 | Stagecoach | Mrs. Mallory | |
| 1967 | Warning Shot | Liz Thayer | |
| 1969 | Crescendo | Susan Roberts | |
| 1970 | The Boatniks | Kate Fairchild | |
| 1972 | The Magnificent Seven Ride! | Laurie Gunn | a.k.a.The Magnificent Seven 4 |
| 1974 | Herbie Rides Again | Nicole Harris | |
| 1975 | Gone with the West | Little Moon | a.k.a.Little Moon and Jud McGraw |
| It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time | Georgia Price | ||
| 1976 | Invisible Strangler | Candy Barrett | a.k.a.The Astral Factor orThe Astral Fiend |
| 1979 | Escape to Athena | Dottie Del Mar | |
| 2008 | Jump! | Katherine Wilkins | |
| 2020 | The Artist's Wife | Ada Risi |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Now Is Tomorrow | Unsold pilot | |
| 1961 | Bat Masterson | Ann Elkins | Episode: "Dead Man's Claim" credited as "Taffy Paul" |
| 1963 | Bonanza | Calamity Jane | Episode: "Calamity Over the Comstock" |
| Route 66 | Julie Severn | Episode: "A Cage in Search of a Bird" | |
| 1966–1967 | The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | April Dancer | Main role (29 episodes) |
| 1968 | Journey to the Unknown | Jane Brown | Episode: "Jane Brown's Body" |
| 1969 | Love, American Style | Poppy | Episode: "Love and the Doorknob" |
| 1971 | McCloud | Model | Episode: "Top of the World, Ma!" |
| Paper Man | Karen McMillan | TV movie | |
| Five Desperate Women | Gloria | ||
| Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You | Celeste Phillips | ||
| The F.B.I. | Connie | Episode: "The Buyer" | |
| Sweet, Sweet Rachel | Rachel Stanton | ||
| 1972 | Cannon | Kelly Prentiss | Episode: "The Rip-off" |
| Hardcase | Rozaline Rutherford | TV movie | |
| The Streets of San Francisco | Toni | Episode: "Tower Beyond Tragedy" | |
| The Mod Squad | Francie Drango | Episode: "The Connection" | |
| Banacek | Angie Ives | Episode- "Let's Hear it for a Living Legend" | |
| 1973 | McCloud | Samantha | Episode: "Butch Cassidy Rides Again" |
| Barnaby Jones | Sharon Renford | Episode: "Echo of a Murder" | |
| 1974 | Cannon | Kelly Prentiss | Episode: "Kelly's Song" |
| 1974 | Petrocelli | Pauline Hannigan | Episode: "Night Games" |
| 1974 | Petrocelli | Jean Carter/Ellen Carter | Episode: "Mirror, Mirror On The Wall" |
| 1974 | Harry O | Fay Conners | Episode: "Second Sight" |
| 1975 | The Rockford Files | Christine Dusseau | Episode: "The Real Easy Red Dog" |
| 1976 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Shalon | Episodes: "The Return of Bigfoot Part 1", "The Secret of Bigfoot Part 2" |
| The Bionic Woman | |||
| Return to Earth | Marianne | TV movie | |
| 1976–1977 | The Feather and Father Gang | Toni "Feather" Danton | Main role (14 episodes) |
| 1977 | Washington: Behind Closed Doors | Sally Whalen | Miniseries |
| McMillan & Wife | D.A. Stephanie Bryant | Episode: 'Affair of the Heart' (Series 6, episode 5) | |
| 1978 | A Death in Canaan | Joan Barthel | TV movie |
| 1979–1984 | Hart to Hart | Jennifer Hart | Main role (111 episodes) |
| 1984 | Mistral's Daughter | Maggie Lunel | Miniseries |
| Family Secrets | Jessie Calloway | TV movie | |
| 1985 | Deceptions | Sabrina Longworth and Stephanie Roberts | Miniseries |
| Hollywood Wives | Montana Gray | ||
| 1987 | At Mother's Request | Frances Schreuder | |
| 1988 | Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun | Beryl Markham | |
| 1993 | Hart to Hart Returns | Jennifer Hart | TV movie |
| 1994 | Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is | ||
| Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart | |||
| Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die | |||
| 1995 | Hart to Hart: Secrets of the Hart | ||
| Hart to Hart: Two Harts in 3/4 Time | |||
| 1996 | Hart to Hart: Harts in High Season | ||
| Hart to Hart: Till Death Do Us Hart | |||
| 2000 | Someone Is Watching | Michelle Dupre | |
| 2001 | Doctors | Jane Powers | Recurring role (7 episodes) |
| 2010 | A Soldier's Love Story | Louise Metcalf | TV movie |
| 2013 | Reading, Writing and Romance | Brenda | |
| 2014 | A Ring by Spring | Madam Rue | |
| 2015 | Love by the Book | Marilyn |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |