Beverly D'Angelo's Real Name: Beverly D'Angelo

Quick answer: Beverly D'Angelo is her real name. TV Insider gives her birth date as November 15, 1951, and her birthplace as Columbus, Ohio. Columbus Monthly says she was born in November 1951, the daughter of Columbus broadcasting executive Gene D'Angelo and his wife, Priscilla. A Library of Congress record adds the middle name Heather, but that rests on one library source.

Real name and early life

Columbus Monthly says her parents were living at the Beverly Manor Apartments when she was born. Family lore holds that her first name came from the building, though she also heard she was named after a drummer friend of her father's, and she prefers that version. She was the second of four children and the only daughter. The magazine says her mother, Priscilla Ruth Smith, was the daughter of architect Howard Dwight Smith, who designed Ohio Stadium.

The family lived in the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington, where she attended Upper Arlington High School. Columbus Monthly says she left the suburb "at the earliest possible opportunity."

Career highlights

TV Insider says she first worked in art, in the animation department at Hanna-Barbera, and Columbus Monthly says her father's connections got her a job there as an inker and painter. She then moved to Canada to sing, including backup work with rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins. There, Gower Champion cast her as Ophelia in Rockabye, Hamlet (1975), which moved to Broadway the next year.

After small roles in Annie Hall and The Sentinel (both 1977), she drew wide attention as Sheila in Milos Forman's Hair (1979). TV Insider says she sealed her reputation playing Patsy Cline in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) and singing the Cline songs on a soundtrack album that went gold. Columbus Monthly says the role earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

In 1983 she played Ellen Griswold opposite Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Vacation. Columbus Monthly says the film was a huge hit, and she appeared in a trio of sequels and a reboot. Later parts included the mother in American History X (1998) and a super-agent on HBO's Entourage. Columbus Monthly recalls that in 1992 the critic Pauline Kael asked how an actress "so beautiful and talented" could not get cast in better films.

Name notes for searchers

D'Angelo is her family surname, not a stage name. Columbus Monthly says her only marriage, in 1981, was to an Italian duke, Lorenzo Salviati, which ended in divorce. Searches sometimes drop the apostrophe and use Beverly DAngelo or Beverly Dangelo; both point to the same actress. TV Insider gives her birth as November 15, 1951, in Columbus, Ohio.