Priscilla Barnes

Priscilla Barnes Biography

Priscilla Barnes, born December 7, 1955, is probably best known for playing the beautiful and intelligent nurse Teri Alden on the 1970s-early '80s ABC-TV show "Three's Company."

Priscilla Barnes Early life

Priscilla was born JoAnn Witty in Fort Dix, New Jersey, the third of four children of a military family, a father who served as a major in the United States Air Force, and their mother, who was a housewife. During her childhood, the Witty family moved to a series of various military bases in the United States before her family finally settled permanently 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.

Priscilla Barnes Early show business career

Barnes' first break came when Bob Hope saw her shimmying 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. Her second break came at 19 when she met Peter Falk at Pips. Six months later he gave her a one-line part in his TV series, Columbo, which led to a series of bit parts in films such as The Seniors (1978) and Delta Fox (1979).

While working as a hostess at a Hollywood nightclub, Priscilla posed nude for the "Pet of the Month" photo layout in the March 1976 issue of Penthouse Magazine under her birthname Joann Witty. Penthouse would later decide to republish the photos under Barnes' present name, which led to a lawsuit by Barnes. In 1976, she began studying acting with coach Sal Dano, whose students included Tom Selleck, Robert Hays and Catherine Bach. In 1978 she then starred in a TV drama series, The American Girls, which was canceled after only seven episodes. Subsequent film and TV roles followed, such as Fantasy Island, Starsky And Hutch, The Rockford Files, and a short-lived CBS-TV drama series called American Girls (1978) which was canceled after only 7 episodes.

Three's Company TV show & other roles

Priscilla was then cast on the hit ABC-TV sitcom series Three's Company in 1981, having been made the permanent replacement for Suzanne Somers after Somers left the series in a contractural dispute, and after Jenilee Harrison had served as an interim replacement (Cindy Snow, Chrissy's clumsy cousin). Priscilla has stated in the tabloid media that her experience on the hit sitcom was "three of the worst years of her life." In spite of this, she remained friends with her co-stars in the cast, particularly fellow actress Joyce Dewitt. The two, along with fellow castmate Richard Kline, have often made public appearances together, and have been a big attraction for autograph seekers and other fans of the show. After the series was cancelled in 1984, she subsequently made appearances in films such as the James Bond thriller Licence to Kill, the Kevin Smith comedy Mallrats and the horror film The Devil's Rejects.

Priscilla Barnes Marriage

In 2003, Priscilla wed her longtime beau, fellow actor Ted Monte. They reside in Southern California.