Deanna Wallace (née Bowers), also known as Dee Wallace Stone (born December 14, 1948), is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Mary Taylor in the 1982 blockbuster science-fiction film ''

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...

''. Wallace earned further recognition as a

scream queen A scream queen (a wordplay on ''screen queen'') is an actress who is prominent and influential in horror films, either through a notable appearance or recurring roles. Scream king is the equivalent for men. Notable scream queen examples include ...

for starring in several

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

s, including ''

The Stepford Wives ''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife, and young mother who suspects that something in the town of Stepford is changing the wives fro ...

'' (1975), ''

The Hills Have Eyes ''The Hills Have Eyes'' is an American horror franchise that consists of four horror films, as well as a graphic novel and merchandise. The first film was released in 1977, '' The Hills Have Eyes''; the series was rebooted in a 2006 remake. Th ...

'' (1977), ''

The Howling ''The Howling'' is a 1977 horror novel by Gary Brandner, first published by Fawcett as a paperback original. It was the inspiration for the film '' The Howling'' (1981), although the plot of the film was only vaguely similar to that of the boo ...

'' (1981), ''

Cujo ''Cujo'' () is a 1981 horror novel by American writer Stephen King about a rabid Saint Bernard. The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1982 and was made into a film in 1983. Cujo's name was based on the alias of Willie Wolfe, one of th ...

'' (1983), '' Critters'' (1986), ''

The Frighteners ''The Frighteners'' is a 1996 supernatural comedy horror film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with Fran Walsh. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Dee Wallace Stone, Jeffrey Combs, R. Lee Ermey an ...

'' (1996), ''

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

'' (2007), ''

The House of the Devil ''The House of the Devil'' is a 2009 American horror film written, directed, and edited by Ti West, starring Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Greta Gerwig, A. J. Bowen, and Dee Wallace. The plot concerns a young college student ...

'' (2009), and '' The Lords of Salem'' (2012).

Early life

Wallace was born in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

, the daughter of Maxine (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Nichols), a secretary, and Robert Stanley Bowers. Wallace's father developed severe

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

before dying by suicide when Wallace was in high school. Her mother was a stage actress and producer who appeared in community-theater productions in Kansas City, which inspired Wallace's interest in acting. After graduating from

Wyandotte High School Wyandotte High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It serves students in grades 9 to 12 and operated by the Kansas City USD 500 school district. The building itself is a historic and ...

, Wallace attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

and obtained an

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

degree. She briefly taught high-school drama at Washington High School in her native Kansas City in the early 1970s.

Career

Wallace began her career on television appearing in episodes of ''

The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is an American television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ow ...

'', ''

Starsky & Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a '' Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired ...

'', and '' Police Woman'', before appearing in the box-office horror hit film ''

'' (1977). In 1981, she played a leading role in the horror film ''

'' opposite her husband Christopher Stone. They later starred together in ''

'' (1983) based on

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

's 1981 novel of the same name. In 1982, Wallace went on to star in

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

's science-fiction film ''

'' (1982). The film became the highest-grossing film of all time—a record held for 11 years until ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...

'', another Spielberg-directed film, surpassed it in 1993. Wallace received a

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...

nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance at the

10th Saturn Awards The 10th Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror film in 1982, were held on July 30, 1983. Winners and nominees Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold. Film awards ...

. Wallace also starred in a number of comedy films, including '' 10'' (1979), ''

Jimmy the Kid Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

'' (1982), and ''

Secret Admirer A secret admirer is an individual who feels adoration, fondness or love for another person without disclosing their identity to that person, and who might send gifts or love letters to their Puppy love, crush. Grade school The goal of a secret a ...

'' (1985). In 1986, she starred in the horror comedy film '' Critters'' (a role she later reprised in a sequel, ''

Critters Attack! ''Critters Attack!'' is a 2019 horror comedy film. It is a reboot of the 1986 film '' Critters'', and the fifth entry in the ''Critters'' franchise. Although returning actress Dee Wallace was assumed to be portraying a new heroine distinct from ...

'', in 2019). She has also appeared in many other horror films, most notably

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

's ''

'' (1996). On television, Wallace played a leading role in the CBS sitcom ''

Together We Stand ''Together We Stand'', also known as ''Nothing Is Easy'', is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS network from 1986 to 1987. It was written by Stephen Sustarsic and directed by Andrew D. Weyman. ''Together We Stand'' is about a married cou ...

'' (1986–1987) and the family drama '' The New Lassie'' (1989–1992). She guest-starred in episodes of a number of shows, including ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'', ''

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

'', ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'', ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced by Ma ...

'', ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'', ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'', ''

My Name Is Earl ''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia (producer), Greg Garcia for NBC. It aired for four seasons from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, with a total of List of My Name Is Earl episodes, 96 episodes. It wa ...

'', ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

'', and ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

''. In 2015, Wallace was cast on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

series ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'', as Patricia Spencer, the unseen, long-lost older sister of

Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...

and

Bobbie Spencer Barbara Jean "Bobbie" Spencer, RN is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'', portrayed by Jacklyn Zeman. She debuted in December 1977, after playing Lana McClain on the sister-soap ''One Life to Live''. Zeman went on ...

; Wallace appeared in the show ''

Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

'', in the episode titled "Into the Mystic", which aired on January 27, 2016. In 2016, she was nominated for the

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was first awarded at t ...

at the

43rd Daytime Emmy Awards The 43rd Daytime Emmy Awards, presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), "recognizes outstanding achievement in all fields of daytime television production and are presented to individuals and programs broadcast fro ...

for her performance in ''General Hospital''.

Personal life

She was briefly married first to Barry Wallace and still uses his surname in her career. Their marriage ended in divorce. She married Christopher Stone in 1980, who died suddenly in 1995. They have one daughter,

Gabrielle Stone Gabrielle Stone is an American author, actress, dancer and director known for movies and television series such as ''Speak No Evil'' and ''Cut''. She has worked with actors Billy Zane, Mischa Barton, and Stone's own mother Dee Wallace Deann ...

. Wallace is a

public speaker Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

and

self-help Self-help or self-improvement is "a focus on self-guided, in contrast to professionally guided, efforts to cope with life problems" —economically, physically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. When ...

author, having written three books, and has her own call-in radio show, in which she talks exclusively about the creation of "self". She often speaks about how one can get through tough times with determination and love. She has also written a book called ''Bright Light'' about her life lessons from an acting career. In 2018, she gave her first

TED talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

at TEDx Cape May, entitled "The Common Ground of Self".

Selected filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Dee American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Living people Actresses from Kansas City, Kansas University of Kansas alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 1948 births Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival award winners