Jamie Donnelly is an American actress known for her portrayal of Jan in the musical, and later film, '' Grease,'' along with

Magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish- red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blu ...

in ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

'' during its run in the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles.

Biography

Donnelly was born in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...

Career

Donnelly is best known as Jan, one of the Pink Ladies from the musical and film '' Grease''. While her film co-stars John Travolta and

Jeff Conaway Jeffrey Charles William Michael Conaway (October 5, 1950 – May 27, 2011) was an American actor. He portrayed Kenickie in the film '' Grease'' and had roles in two television series: struggling actor Bobby Wheeler in ''Taxi'' and security offic ...

had appeared in the stage version of '' Grease'' as different characters, and

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...

reprised his film character on stage, Donnelly was the only person to reprise her stage character on film; she was 31 years old by the time the film was released and had to dye her graying hair to continue to fit the part.Gliatto, Tom; and O'Neill Anne-Marie
"Grease Is the Word: Twenty Years Later, the Stars Are Still True to Their School"
'' People (magazine)'', April 13, 1998. Accessed September 13, 2011. "'I always felt Jan was the person most like the audience,' says Jamie Donnelly, 50, who dyed her prematurely gray hair to play the pigtailed Pink Lady. 'She wasn't as cool as the other ones.' The Teaneck, N.J., native now lives in La Canada, Calif., with her husband, screenwriter Stephen Foreman, son Sevi, 10, and daughter Madden Rose, 8." In the early 1970s, she was in the United States premiere of ''

'' starring as Magenta and the Usherette. She appeared on stage at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles with

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

and

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

in 1974, when the show opened. She is featured on the original Roxy cast recording in her role, singing the opening song "

Science Fiction/Double Feature "Science Fiction/Double Feature" is the opening song to the original 1973 musical stage production, ''The Rocky Horror Show'' as well as its 1975 film counterpart ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', book, music and lyrics by Richard O'Brien, musi ...

". She went with most of the Roxy cast to reprise her roles on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1975, but did not reprise the role in the film adaptation, as the British production's original Magenta, Patricia Quinn, reprised the role instead. Several years later, she was called to read for ''Grease''. During her stage career, she appeared in a musical version of ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

''. In 2017, she appeared as herself on the TV game show revival of '' To Tell The Truth''. One of the 3 contestants was the real "pinkest lady in the world." After the real person was revealed, Jamie revealed herself to instead be one of the Pink Ladies in ''Grease''.

Personal life

Donnelly is an acting coach who lives in La Canada, California, with her husband Stephen Foreman, a novelist. She has two adult children.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Jamie American stage actresses American film actresses Living people People from Teaneck, New Jersey Actresses from New Jersey Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women