Barbara Steele was born December 29, 1938 (some source claim 1937), in Trenton Wirrall, in England, and I have no clue where it's situated. Legend claims that Barbara Steele wanted to be a painter, but found herself (after studying in a theater repertory company) in a British comedy in 1958 entitled Bachelor of Hearts, where Barbara Steele had only one line of dialogue. It's in the Mario Bava B&W masterpiece "Black Sunday" that Barbara Steele became a sensation in 1960. This movie was the coming of maturity for the golden age of Italian horror and it still impresses today.

Barbara Steele's career took off after starring in Mario Bava's cult classic "Black Sunday". Following that she worked for directors Roger Corman, Jonathan Demme, David Cronenberg, and Joe Dante. Most notably, Barbara Steele starred as Gloria in Fellini's" 8 ½". Barbara Steele continues to work in the movie industry, but primarily on the other side of the camera as a producer. Barbara Steele has worked on many successful projects including War and Remembrance, for which she won an Emmy.

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"The most fascinating actress ever to appear in horror films with regularity . ... Her beauty is mysterious and unique: her large eyes, high cheekbones, jet-black hair, thick bottom lip, and somewhat knobby chin don't seem synchronized, and as a result her face can be looked on as being either evil ... or sweet." Danny Peary, "Cult Movies" *