Barbara Steele (1937 - )

Date of Birth: 29 December 1937
Place of Birth: Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, UK
Date of Death:
Place of Death:
Also Known As:

BIOGRAPHY

Arguably the best known female star of screen horror, certainly the most beautiful, Steele's remains one of the most iconic images in the genre, thanks to a string of gothic chillers shot in Italy in the 1960s. Her stunning looks, able to switch between suggesting total innocence and utter evil in the blink of an eye, were perfect for the kind of dark, sexually tinged horror that were creeping out of Italy at the time. Turning her back on an early desire to be a painter, Steele discovered acting when she joined a repertory theatre in 1957 and, at age 21, her striking looks were unveiled on the screen for the first time in the 1958 comedy Bachelor of Hearts.

Tiring of the largely non-descript roles that she was being offered in her native Britain, Steele accepted the offer to take the lead role in Mario Bava's La maschera del demonio (1960) and was transformed from an attractive bit part actress to gothic horror icon. It has been reported that Steele has claimed that she took the role in a panic, having not had any decent work for two years. Whatever the reason, it was the right one - the film kick-started the career of the remarkable Mario Bava and gave the horror world a new star.

Sadly for Steele, it was also to typecast her, a fact that was to rankle the actress throughout the rest of her career. Having worked with Bava, Steele was soon taking direction from some of the other greats of the Italian 60s horror scene, including Riccardo Freda (L'orribile segreto del dottor Hichcock (1962)), Antonio Margheriti (Danza macabra and I lunghi capelli della morte (both 1964)), Lucio Fulci (I maniaci (1964)) and Camillo Mastrocinque (Un angelo per Satana (1966)) among others. She even signed up for Federico Fellini, appearing in the classic 8½ (1963).

Steele also worked in the States for Roger Corman, appearing in Pit and the Pendulum (1961) and later would work with other genre giants like Michael Reeves (La sorella di Satana (1966)), David Cronenberg (Shivers (1975)) and Joe Dante (Piranha (1978)).

Roles in non-genre work for Steele were plentiful but largely uninspired - she would later quip to her low-budget directors "I've worked with some of the best directors in the world. I've worked with Fellini!" - and she never really achieved the same recognition from the wider cinema-going public that she did from horror fans. But the roles she got in the genre frequently wasted her talents, never more so than in Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968) in which she was reduced to being painted green in some tedious satanic rites footage.

At the end of the 1960s, Steele made a conscious effort to move away from the horror roles that had made her name, telling one interviewer "I never want to climb out of another freaking coffin again!" She relocated permanently to the States where she met and married screenwriter James Poe who wrote an excellent role for her in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969); sadly, Steele never played the part, the role going to Susannah York instead and it marked a temporary end to Steele's career.

After a five year hiatus, she returned to the screen in Jonathan Demme's women-in-prison drama Caged Heat (1974) (produced, uncredited, by Roger Corman) in which she was horribly miscast as the wheelchair bound warden. Her attempts to mount a proper career revival were further hampered by her scenes in the Corman produced I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977) ending up on the cutting room floor, and by an undeservedly small role in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby (1978) which wasted her talents.

Following the death of James Poe a few years after their divorce in the early 1980s, Steele vanished from the screen and stayed missing for over a decade. But she was carving a new career for herself behind the scenes, as a producer - her biggest hits were the hugely successful TV mini-series The Winds of War (1983) and its sequel War and Remembrance (1989), which netted her an Emmy award.

The lure of gothic horror proved too much for her however and she was soon back on our screens, appearing as Dr Julia Hoffman in Dan Curtis' revival of his cult horror soap Dark Shadows (1991). Since then her screen appearances have been sporadic and hardly worthy of her talents. But the films she made in the 1960s have left us with some of the most indelible images the genre has ever seen. Her allure was perfectly summed up by director Tim Burton: "Once you see Barbara Steele you know you will probably never forget her. She is probably one of the only real horror goddesses. There is a timelessness that she has."

In 2003, it was suggested that she's returned to her other job as producer when a Barbara Steele turned up in the credits of the hit show Queer Eye For the Straight Guy (2003 - ), listed as associate producer. However, it seems that this is a different Barbara Steele.
KEVIN LYONS

GENRE FILMOGRAPHY

1960
La maschera del demonio (performer (Katia Vajda / Princess Asa Vajda))
Black Sunday - US title
The Demon's Mask
The Hour When Dracula Comes
House of Fright
A Maldição do Demônio - Brazilian title
La máscara del demonio – Mexican / Spanish title
The Mask of Satan
Mask of the Demon
Le masque du demon – French / French Belgian title
Paholaisen naamio - Finnish title
Revenge of the Vampire – UK title
Die Stunde wenn Dracula kommt - Austrian / West German title

1961
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Beta Delta Gamma (14 November 1961) (performer) *

Pit and the Pendulum (performer (Elizabeth Barnard Medina))
Brønden og pendulet - Danish title
La chambre des tortures - French title
Dödspendeln - Swedish title
Kuilu ja heiluri - Finnish title
Das Pendel des Todes - West German title
El péndulo de la muerte - Spanish title
The Pit and the Pendulum
El pozo y el péndulo - Argentinian / Venezuelan title
Il pozzo e il pendolo - Italian title
Le puits et le pendule - French title

1962
L'orribile segreto del dottor Hichcock (performer (Cynthia Hichcock))
L'effroyable secret du Dr Hichcock - French title
The Frightening Secret of Dr Hichcock - English language title
The Horrible Dr Hichcock - US title
The Horrible Secret of Dr Hichcock
Raptus
The Secret of Dr Hichcock
The Terrible Secret of Dr Hichcock
The Terror of Dr Hichcock - UK title

1963
Lo spettro (performer (Margaret Hitchcock))
Frygtens time - Danish video title
The Ghost - US title
Le spectre du Dr Hichcock - French title
The Spectre
Lo spettro de Dr Hichcock

1964
Danza macabra (performer (Elisabeth Blackwood))
Castle of Blood - UK / US title
The Castle of Terror - US title
Coffin of Terror
Danse macabre - French title
Dimensions in Death
Edgar Allan Poe's Castle of Blood
The Long Night of Terror
La lunga notte de terrore
Terrore
Tombs of Horror
Tombs of Terror

I lunghi capelli della morte (performer (Helen Karnstein / Mary Karnstein))
The Long Hair of Death
La sorcière sanglante - French title

I maniaci (performer)
Beautiful Eyes
The Maniacs

1965
Amanti d'oltretomba (performer (Muriel Arrowsmith / Jenny Arrowsmith))
Amants d'outre tombe - French title
The Faceless Monster
Lovers Beyond the Tomb
Lovers from Beyond the Tomb
Night of the Doomed
Nightmare Castle - US title
Orgasmo

Cinque tombe per un medium (performer (Cleo Hauff))
Cemetery of the Living Dead
Le cimetière des morts vivants - French title
Cinq tombes pour un médium - French title
Coffin of Terror
Five Graves for a Medium
Terror-Creatures from the Grave
Tombs of Horror

1966
Un angelo per Satana (performer (Harriet Montebruno))
An Angel for Satan
Ein Engel für den Teufel - West German title

I Spy: Bridge of Spies (9 November 1966) (performer (Giana)) *

La sorella di Satana (performer (Veronica))
Il lago di Satana
Revenge of the Blood Beast
Satan's Sister
The She-Beast
Sister of Satan

1968
Curse of the Crimson Altar (performer (Lavinia Morley)
Black horror: le messe nere - Italian title
The Crimson Altar
The Crimson Cult - US title
Curse of the Crimson Cult
Die Hexe des Grafen Dracula - West German title
La maison ensorcelée - French title
Monstret i skräckens hus - Swedish title
The Reincarnation
Schwarze Messe auf blutrotem Altar - West German title
Spirit of the Dead
Witch House

1972
Night Gallery: The Sins of the Fathers (23 February 1972) (Widow Craigill) *

1975
Shivers (performer (Betts))
Il demone sotto la pelle - Italian title
Dreszcze - Polish title
Frissons - French / French Canadian title
Frossa - Swedish title
Kylmät väreet - Finnish title
Os Parasitas da Morte - Portugese title
The Parasite Murders
Parasiten-Mörder - West German title
They Came from Within - US title
Vénen de dintre de... - Catalan Spanish title
Vinieron de dentro de... - Spanish title

The Space-Watch Murders (performer) *

1978
Piranha (performer (Dr Mengers))
Piraija - Finnish title
Pirana - Italian title
Piraña - Spanish title
Piranhas - French / West German title
Piraya - Norwegian / Swedish title

1980
Silent Scream (performer (Victoria Engels))
Cichy krzyk - Polish title
Hiljaisuuden huuto - Finnish title
Psychock - West German title

1990
Adam Hart i Sahara (performer (portrait of Alicia))

1991
Dark Shadows (performer (Dr Julia Hoffman)) *
Dark Shadows Revival – US video title
Le malédiction de Collinwood - French title

1997
Clive Barker's A-Z of Horror: episode unknown (performer (herself)) *
A-Z of Horror

Hollywood Rated 'R' (performer (herself))
Alles Schund - Hollywood auf dem Index - German television title
Les deniers du culte - French television title
Hienot huonot halpisleffat - Finnish title
Hollywood para adultos - Venezuelan title

1998
Donald Cammell: The Ultimate Performance (performer (herself)) *

1999
The Prophet (performer (Agent Oakley))
The Capitol Conspiracy – US video title
Fist of Doom – German title
El profeta - Spanish title

NON-GENRE FILMOGRAPHY

1958
Bachelor of Hearts (performer (Fiona))
Mit dem Kopf durch die Wand - West German title
Uno straniero a Cambridge - Italian title
Vallaton yliopisto - Finnish title

1959
Sapphire (performer)
Crimen al atardecer - Spanish title
Das Mädchen Saphir - West German title
Mordalarm in Scotland Yard - Austrian title
Salaperäinen Sapphire - Finnish title
Zaffiro nero - Italian title

Upstairs and Downstairs (performer (Mary))
Las pícaras doncellas - Argentinian / Spanish title
Su e giù per le scale - Italian title
Trappa upp och trappa ner - Swedish title
Treppauf - Treppab - West German title
Ylösalaisin - Finnish title

1960
Adventures in Paradise: Daughter of Illusion (12 December 1960) (Dolores) *

Your Money or Your Wife (performer (Juliet Frost))

1961
Bonanza: The Tin Badge (17 December 1961) (Sylvia Ann) *

1962
Il capitano di ferro (performer)
Rampage of Evil - English language title
Revenge of the Mercenaries – US television title

1963
8½ (performer (Gloria Morin))
8 és ½ - Hungarian title
8 és 1/2 - Hungarian title
Achteinhalb - West German title
Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 - US title
Federico Fellini's 8½ - US title
Fellini 8 ½ - Argentinian / Swedish title
Fellini Ocho y medio - Spanish title
Huit et demi - French title
Rva nakhevari - Georgian title
Vuit i mig - Catalan Spanish title

Le ore dell'amore (performer (Leila))
Las horas de amor - Spanish title
The Hours of Love - US title

Un tentativo sentimentale (performer)
Amours sans lendemain - French title
A Sentimental Attempt - English language title
Versuchung in Liebe - West German title

1964
Amore facile (performer (Contessa Bardi-Stucchi))

Les baisers (performer (Thelma))
I baci
Suudelmia - Finnish title
Una voglia matta di donna

Le monocle rit jaune (performer (Valérie))
L'ispettore spara a vista
Monocle blickt voll durch - West German title
The Monocle - US title
The Monocle's Sour Laugh - English language title
Monokel lacht gelb - West German title

Tre per una rapina (performer (Barbara Sims))
Drei von uns - West German television title
Tiempo de violencia - Spanish title
Zwischenlandung Düsseldorf - West German title

Le voci bianche (performer (Guilia))
I castrati
Counter Tenors
Glos na sprzedaz - Polish title
Helle Stimmen - West German title
Joven, guapo y con voz de soprano - Spanish title
Le sexe des anges
Undercover Rogue - US title
White Voices - US title

1965
Danger Man: The Man on the Beach (16 December 1965) (Cleo) *

Once Upon a Tractor (performer)
Había una vez un tractor – Argentinian title

I soldi (performer)

1966
L'armata Brancaleone (performer (Teodora))
La armada Brancaleone – Argentinian / Spanish title
For Love and Gold - English language title
Die Unglaublichen Abenteuer des hochwohllöblichen Ritters Branca Leone - West German title

Der Junge Törless (performer (Bozena))
Les désarrois de l'élève Törless - French title
Az ifjú Törless - Hungarian title
O Jovem Törless - Brazilian title
El joven Torless - Spanish title
I turbamenti del giovane Torless - Italian title
Den Unge Törless - Swedish title
Young Torless - US title

1968
Fermate il mondo... voglio scendere (performer (Danielle))

Handicap (performer)

1969
Honeymoon with a Stranger (performer (Carla)) *

1974
Caged Heat (performer (Supt. McQueen))
Caged Females
Caged Heat - Das Zuchthaus der verlorenen Mädchen - West German title
La cárcel caliente - Spanish title
Femmine in gabbia - Italian title
Naarashäkki - Finnish title
Pako Connevillen naisvankilasta - Finnish video title
Pako naisvankilasta - Finnish title
Renegade Girls
Uwieziona pasja - Polish title

1977
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (performer (Idat))
En luvannut sinulle ruusutarhaa - Finnish title
Ich hab' dir nie einen Rosengarten versprochen - West German title
Ingen dans på rosor - Swedish title
Jamais je ne t'ai promis un jardin de roses - French title
Nigdy nie obiecywalem ci rózanego ogrodu - Polish title
Nunca te prometí un jardín de rosas - Spanish title

1978
La clé sur la porte (performer (Cathy))
The Key Is in the Door - US title
Una mujer sola - Spanish title

Pretty Baby (performer (Josephine))
Niña bonita – Argentinian / Venezuelan title
La pequeña - Spanish title
La petite - French title

1981
Sois belle et tais-toi (performer (herself))

1983
The Winds of War (associate producer, performer (Mrs Stoller)) *
Der Feuersturm - West German title
Krigets vindar - Swedish title
Sodan tuulet - Finnish title
Vientos de guerra - Venezuelan title

1988
War and Remembrance (producer, performer (Elsa MacMahon)) *
Feuersturm und Asche - West German title
Krig och hågkomst - Swedish title
Recuerdos de guerra - Spanish title
Sodan muisto - Finnish title

1994
Tief oben (performer)
Deep Above

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009