Priscilla Barnes

Priscilla Anne Barnes (born December 7, 1954) is an American actress, who may be best known in her role as Terri Alden on Three's Company, the permanent replacement for Suzanne Somers. She subsequently made appearances in films such as A Vacation in Hell, Licence to Kill, Mallrats, The Devil's Rejects, and the television series Jane the Virginand Highway To Heaven.

Early life

Barnes was born December 7, 1954 (some sources list 1952 or 1955) in Fort Dix, New Jersey, the third of four children of a father who was a major in the United States Air Force and her mother a homemaker. Her childhood was marked by a series of moves across various military bases in the United States before her family settled in Lancaster, California. After graduating from Antelope Valley High School at age 17, she relocated to San Diego, working as a waitress and a dancer.

Career

Early career

Barnes' first break came when Bob Hope saw her in a local fashion show and invited her to join his troupe for a 1973 performance at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She subsequently moved to Los Angeles to attempt a career in show business in earnest. She appeared as an Amazon in The New Original Wonder Woman alongside Lynda Carter as the title character. Her second break came at 19 when she met Peter Falk at Pips. Six months later he gave her a one-line part in an episode of Columbo, which led to a series of bit parts in films like The Seniors (1978) and Delta Fox (1979).

While working as a hostess at a Hollywood nightclub, Barnes posed nude for the "Pet of the Month" photo layout in the March 1976 issue of Penthouse magazine under the pseudonym Joann Witty. Penthouse later wanted to republish the photos under Barnes' real name in 1982 after she had become famous in Three's Company. The dispute ended up in court, as Penthouse wanted a judge to rule on the legality of publishing the pictures using her real name. At issue was a handwritten addendum to the standard model release contract that all models sign. When Penthouse lost the initial case, they appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeal court mostly sided with Barnes and ruled that the handwritten addendum was legally binding and that Penthouse could not republish the photos using her real name.

In 1976, she began studying acting with coach Sal Dano, whose students included Tom Selleck, Robert Hays and Catherine Bach. In 1978, she starred in a TV series, The American Girls, which was canceled after seven weeks. Subsequent parts include the horror film Tintorera, and such television series as Starsky & Hutch, Kojak, The Rockford Files, The Love Boat, the 1978 TV version of The Time Machine and the 1979 television film A Vacation in Hell. In 1980, Barnes landed a supporting role in Sunday Lovers.

Three's Company

In 1981, Barnes was cast as Terri Alden on Three's Company after Jenilee Harrison served as interim replacement to Suzanne Somers, who had left the series as a result of contractual dispute with producers. The part, which is Barnes' most notable role, brought her instant public recognition.

In the 1998 TV program E! True Hollywood Story, Barnes called Three's Company the "three worst years" of her life. Barnes revealed that after shooting a couple of episodes of the show, she felt "uncomfortable" on the set and asked, unsuccessfully, to be released from her contract.

She remained friends with co-stars Joyce DeWitt and Richard Kline, with whom she made public appearances. Barnes was portrayed by actress Anne Ross in the 2003 television movie Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company.

Later career

In 1982, Barnes starred in Aaron Spelling's The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch. After Three's Company was cancelled by ABC in 1984, Barnes appeared in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill as Della Churchill, the underwater sci-fi/action thriller Lords of the Deep (1989), Traxx (1988) with Shadoe Stevens, and in NBC's Perry Mason and the Case of the Reckless Romeo (1992), with Raymond Burr as Perry Mason. Her 1990s feature film appearances include Stepfather III (1992), Mallrats (1995), The Crossing Guard (1995), and Mumford (1999).

Her 2000s work includes The Devil's Rejects (2005), Thr3e (2006), The Visitation (2006), and American Cowslip (2009). In 2012, she co-starred as "Vicey Hatfield" in Hatfields and McCoys: Bad Blood. In 2013, she appeared in Disaster Wars: Earthquake vs Tsunami. Barnes appeared in a Hallmark Channel original movie called Elevator Girl, and appeared in 2014 in the recurring role of "Magda" on the CW series Jane the Virgin (2014).

In 2007 Barnes appeared at the annual New York International Fringe Festival as Hillary Clinton in Nick Salamone's play Hillary Agonistes.

In 2019 Barnes appeared in the Bloomington Playwrights Project's production of Christy Hall's To Quiet the Quiet.

Personal life

Barnes is married to actor Ted Monte. In 2012 they purchased a home in Glendale, California.