Known for movies

Short Info

SpouseBill Trowbridge
FactAutobiography "Miss Rona". In it, she admits to having a nose job and claims actor Hugh B. O'Brien tried to seduce her.


Rona Barrett (born October 8, 1936) is an American gossip columnist and television reporter. She was one of the first entertainment reporters to become a household name in the United States.

Barrett was born in New York City to a Jewish family. Her father was a successful businessman and her mother was a homemaker. She has two older sisters. Barrett attended public schools in New York City and graduated from high school in 1954.

Barrett began her career as a journalist working for small newspapers in New York City. In the early 1960s, she began working for the New York Daily News. In 1965, she moved to Los Angeles and began working for the Hollywood Reporter.

In the late 1960s, Barrett began appearing on television. She became a regular panelist on The Hollywood Squares and had her own gossip segment on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In 1976, she launched her own syndicated television show, Rona Barrett’s Hollywood, which ran for two seasons.

In the 1980s, Barrett transitioned from television to writing books. She has authored several books on Hollywood celebrities, including her best-selling 1984 book, Miss Rona: The Life and Times of Hollywood’s Greatest Gossip Columnist.

Barrett has been married three times. Her first husband was producer Merv Adelson, with whom she had one child. Her second husband was real estate developer Jerry Perenchio, with whom she had no children. She has been married to retired businessman Martin Davis since 1992.

Barrett has an estimated net worth of $20 million.

General Info

Full NameRona Barrett
ProfessionActor, Journalist, Businessperson, Novelist, Gossip columnist
NationalityAmerican

Family

SpouseBill Trowbridge
ParentsIda

Accomplishments

TV ShowsTomorrow Coast to Coast, Entertainment Tonight

Social profile links

Quotes

#Quote
1Pick your enemies carefully or you'll never make it in Los Angeles.
2I'm really a pussycat -- with an iron tail.
3I'm not friends with the stars, because if I were I couldn't tell the truth about them.

Facts

#Fact
1Recently moved to Solvang, CA [July 2006]
2She and her husband, Bill Trowbridge, are the founders and owners of a company that sells skin care and food products using organic lavender, grown on her own ranch. She has also started a foundation to help the elderly. [November 2003]
3Was Robert P. Marcucci's assistant when he managed Frankie Avalon and Fabian. The "Brenda Roberts" character in The Idolmaker (1980) is based on her.
4Her high school prom date was singer Steve Lawrence.
5Has 4 step children. Sons: Robbinn ("Robb") and William Allan Trowbridge Jr. ("Hap") and daughters: Bala and Jojo Trowbridge.
6Her niece by marriage is actress Heather Blair.
7Her husband of over 30 years, Bill Trowbridge, died from kidney failure with his family at his side.
8Was a pre-law major in college when an uncle, a judge, advised her to switch to Communication Arts (journalism).
9Has a very rare form of muscular dystrophy that wasn't diagnosed until she was 9.
10Autobiography "Miss Rona". In it, she admits to having a nose job and claims actor Hugh B. O'Brien tried to seduce her.
11Retired in 1991. Lives in San Ynez, California.
12At the age of 13, she was the nationwide coordinator of the Eddie Fisher Fan Clubs.
13In 1980, she signed-on to co-host, with Tom Snyder, NBC's Tomorrow Coast to Coast (1973) but dropped out the following year after engaging in a very public feud with Snyder.

Movies

Actress

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Television: Inside and Out1981TV SeriesRegular
Sextette1978Rona Barrett
Mannix1968-1974TV SeriesRona Barrett
Do Not Throw Cushions Into the Ring1970
The Phynx1970Rona Barrett

Self

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Tab Hunter Confidential2015DocumentaryHerself
Rock Hudson: Dark and Handsome Stranger2010DocumentaryHerself
Biography2007TV Series documentaryHerself
The Dream Studio2004Video documentary shortHerself
The Oprah Winfrey Show2003TV SeriesHerself
The Definitive Elvis: Elvis and Priscilla2002Video documentaryHerself
Good Morning America1979-1995TV SeriesHerself
Intimate Portrait1993TV Series documentaryHerself
WrestleMania VI1990TV MovieHerself - Interviewer
WWF Superstars1990TV SeriesHerself
The Pat Sajak Show1989TV SeriesHerself
Moonlighting1987TV SeriesHerself
Late Night with David Letterman1984TV SeriesHerself
The Regis Philbin Show1981TV SeriesHerself
Entertainment Tonight1981TV SeriesHerself - Gossip Contributor (1985-1986)
Today1981TV SeriesHerself
Tomorrow Coast to Coast1981TV SeriesHerself - Substitute Host
The 38th Annual Golden Globe Awards1981TV SpecialHerself
An Almost Perfect Affair1979Herself (uncredited)
Grease Day USA1978TV Movie documentaryPremiere Guest
The Mike Douglas Show1970-1977TV SeriesHerself - Columnist / Herself - Co-Host / Herself
TVTV Looks at the Academy Awards1976TV Special documentaryHerself
A Special Olivia Newton-John1976TV Special
The Sonny and Cher Show1976TV SeriesHerself / Various Characters
Dinah!1975-1976TV SeriesHerself
Joys1976TV SpecialHerself
Match Game 731975TV SeriesHerself - Panelist
Match Game PM1975TV SeriesHerself - Panelist
Rona Looks at Raquel, Liza, Cher and Ann-Margret1975TV MovieHerself - Host
Don Adams' Screen Test1975TV SeriesHerself - Judge
Donahue1975TV SeriesHerself
The Smothers Brothers Show1975TV SeriesHerself
Tattletales1974TV SeriesHerself
ABC Late Night1973TV SeriesHerself
Alan King Looks Back in Anger: A Review of 19721973TV MovieHerself
The Merv Griffin Show1972TV SeriesHerself
The Virginia Graham Show1970TV SeriesHerself
The David Frost Show1970TV SeriesHerself
The Barbara McNair Show1969TV SeriesHerself
The Hollywood Squares1969TV SeriesGuest Appearance
Allen Ludden's Gallery1969TV SeriesHerself
The Joey Bishop Show1967-1969TV SeriesHerself
Head1968Herself (uncredited)
Dateline: Hollywood1967TV SeriesHerself
Gypsy1967TV SeriesHerself

Archive Footage

TitleYearStatusCharacter
The Making of Trump2015TV Movie documentaryHerself
Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic2013DocumentaryHerself
American Masters2012TV Series documentaryHerself
Headliners & Legends: Brooke Shields2001TV Movie documentaryHerself
The Sinister Saga of Making 'The Stunt Man'2000Video documentaryHerself
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse1991DocumentaryHerself
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues1988Video documentaryHerself

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia

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