Who is Bonnie Bedelia?
The four-times Oscar-nominated action thriller “Die Hard”, directed by John McTiernan, came into theaters on 22 July 1988, with famous actors starring as the main characters, and who don’t need to be specially presented – Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman – also starring Bonnie Bedelia, who immediately caught the eye of the public and people wanted to know more about her.
If you are one of them, let us tell you all about this talented actress; she has over 90 acting credits to her name, and besides the mentioned role, has starred in numerous movies including the sequel “Die Hard 2” among many others, while for television viewers, she’s perhaps best known for her roles in numerous series, including “Love Life”, “The New Land”, “Parenthood”, and “Designated Survivor”.
Early life, family, and education
Bonnie Bedelia Culkin was born under the zodiac sign of Aries on 25 March 1948, in New York City USA, thus she holds American nationality, and her ethnicity is of mixed English, German, Irish and French descent.
She was raised in New York City by her mother Marian Ethel, an editor and writer, and her father Phillip Harley Culkin, who was in public relations; both of her parents passed away when she was young. She has two brothers, one of them, Kit, prefers to keep his private life a secret, thus nothing is known about him, while her other brother is famous actor Kit Culkin, and her sister is Candice Culkin.
Bonnie attended the Professional Children’s School, and then a local high school; upon matriculating in 1966, she didn’t enroll in college but took acting lessons at Herbert Berghof Studio, to pursue her dream of becoming an actress.
Roles in series
Bonnie made her acting debut portraying Clara in an episode of the series “Playhouse 90” in 1958, and then made an appearance as Linda Stuart in the television series “East Side/West Side” in 1964. In the following year she was cast to play Sandy Porter in “Love Life”, which was her breakthrough role, followed by her starring in series such as “CBS Playhouse”, “Judd for the Defense” and “The High Chaparral” in 1968.
From 1969 until 1972, she had the recurring role as Alice Harper in “Bonanza”, and concurrently guest-starred in “Norman Corwin Presents” (1972), followed by her role as Edith Dayton-Thomas in “Hawkins” in 1973. In the same year, she was cast to play Alice Hartman in “Love Story”, and next, she was seen as Anna Larsen in the popular television series “The New Land” in 1974.
During the ‘80s and early ‘90s, it seems that Bonnie focused more on movie roles, and her next television role came in the 1993 mini-series “The Fire Next Time”, followed by her role in the 1996 sitcom “The Outer Limits”, and in the late ’90s she was seen as Ellie Boone in “Partners”.
From 2001 until 2004, she was cast to play Captain Kate McCafferty in the crime drama “The Division” also starring Nancy McKeon and Lisa Vidal, and she was next seen starring as Virginia Ginger Heffman in the “Big Love” series from 2007. In the following year, she guest-starred as DDA Madeline Klein in “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, and her next role came in the same year, when she portrayed Latrelle Williamson in “Sordid Lives: The Series”.
From 2010 until 2015, Bonnie appeared as Camille Braverman in the popular comedy sitcom “Parenthood”, also starring Peter Krause, Dax Shepard and Lauren Graham, and her next role came in 2017, when she was cast to play Eva Booker in “Designated Survivor”. Bonnie’s most recent role was her portrayal of Anne McCarthy in “Panic” in 2021.
Roles in movies
Bonnie made her movie debut in the 1969 film “The Gypsy Moths”, followed by her role as Ruby in “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”, and then in the following year, she was seen as Susan in “Lovers and Other Strangers”.
In the early ’70s, she was seen starring in numerous movies such as “The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie” (1972), “Heatwave!” (1974), and TV movie “Walking Through the Fire” in 1979.
The ‘80s saw Bonnie as Aleta in “Fighting Back: The Story of Rocky Bleier”, followed by her roles in “The Lady from Yesterday” (1985) and “Alex: The Life of a Child” (1986). In 1988, she was cast to play one of her most notable roles to date, as Holly McClane in “Die Hard”, and then in 1990, she reprised her role in “Die Hard 2”, also starring Bruce Willis and William Atherton.
During the ‘90s and early 2000s, Bonnie acted in numerous movies, and since the list of her roles is too long to enumerate, we will mention some of her most significant roles, such as her portrayal of Rose in the drama “Flowers for Algernon” in 2000, and her role as Alice in “Manhood” in 2003.
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— Christmas on the Coast (@COTC_Movie) December 17, 2019
From 2010 until 2020, she was seen starring in numerous films, including the short movie “Munchausen” (2013), “Broken Links” (2016), and “Christmas on the Coast” (2018), among others.
In 2021, Bonnie was cast to play Aunt Helen in “Violet”, which is her most recent movie role.
Love life and relationships
There have been various rumors concerning both Bonnie’s love life and her sexual orientation, however, it’s widely known that Bonnie has married three times, and that she’s straight.
Her first husband was Kenneth Luber, a television screenwriter – the two married on 24 April 1969, their first son, Uri was born in 1970, and their second son, Jonah in 1976. Bonnie and Kenneth divorced in 1980.
Her second husband was James Telfer, a musician and screenwriter, with whom she was in a short-lived marriage in 1975, and then Bonnie was in a relationship with Peter Riegert, an actor and director, from 1986 until 1990.
Although Bonnie hasn’t shared how and when she met her third husband Michael MacRae, a famous American actor, many of her fans believe that they met on a movie set. The two tied the knot in 1995, but their wedding location was secret.
Michael MacRae is an actor, perhaps known best for his role in the 1997 movie “Masterminds”, and he was also seen starring in “Summer School”, “Battlefield”, and “MacGyver”. Michael was born on 16 March 1949, in Salem, Massachusetts USA, and made his acting debut portraying Alf Cassinger in the 1974 TV series “Gunsmoke”.
As of July 2022, Bonnie and Michael are still in marriage; they don’t have children together, while Bonnie has two children from her previous marriage.
Where is Bonnie Bedelia now?
Although many thought that Bonnie Bedelia has retired from acting, it has recently been revealed that the “Die Hard” star has finished the filming for two new movies, entitled “The Hill” and “The Noel Diary”, which are both set to be released in late 2022. According to IMDb, “The Hill” follows the ‘true-life story of Ricky Hill’s improbable journey to play Major League Baseball’, while “The Noel Diary” is a romantic comedy-drama, based on the novel of the same title by Richard Paul Evans.
There were some rumors saying that Bonnie is suffering from an unknown illness, however, she hasn’t reported any sickness, and she appears to be in a good health.
Age, height net worth
Bonnie’s age is 74 – she has light brown hair and brown eyes; she weighs around 125lbs (57kgs), and is 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, with vital statistics of 37-27-37.
According to sources, as of July 2022, her net worth is estimated at over $2 million.
