Priscilla Barnes

Priscilla Barnes (born 1954 (age 27) ) is an American actress.

Barnes's first break came when Bob Hope saw her 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.

She appeared as an Amazon in The New Original Wonder Woman alongside Lynda Carter as the title character.

Her second break came at 19 when she met Peter Falk at Pips.

While working as a hostess at a Hollywood nightclub, Barnes posed nude for the "Pet of the Month" photo layout in the March 1976 issue of Penthouse magazine under the pseudonym Joann Witty.

In 1976, she began studying acting with coach Sal Dano, whose students included Tom Selleck, Robert Hays and Catherine Bach.

Barnes initially auditioned for the role of Chrissy Snow in 1976, but lost the part to Somers.

Six months later he gave her a one-line part in an episode of Columbo, which led to a series of bit parts in films like The Seniors (1978) and Delta Fox (1979).

In 1978, she played a leading role in the CBS action series, The American Girls, which was canceled after seven weeks.

Subsequent parts include the horror film Tintorera, and such television series as Starsky & Hutch, Vega$, Kojak, The Rockford Files, The Love Boat, the 1978 TV version of The Time Machine and the 1979 television film A Vacation in Hell.

Barnes also has appeared in films, including A Vacation in Hell (1979), Licence to Kill (1989), Stepfather III (1992), The Crossing Guard (1995), Mallrats (1995), The Devil's Rejects (2005), and The Visitation (2006).

In 1980, Barnes landed a supporting role in the romantic comedy film Sunday Lovers.

She is best known for her role as Terri Alden in the ABC sitcom Three's Company, between 1981 and 1984.

In 1981, Barnes was cast as Terri Alden on the ABC sitcom Three's Company after Jenilee Harrison served as interim replacement to Suzanne Somers, who had left the series as a result of contractual dispute with producers.

The part, which is Barnes' most notable role, brought her instant public recognition.

Penthouse later wanted to republish the photos under Barnes's real name in 1982 after she had become famous in Three's Company.

The dispute ended up in court, as Penthouse wanted a judge to rule on the legality of publishing the pictures using her real name.

At issue was a handwritten addendum to the standard model release contract that all models sign.

When Penthouse lost the initial case, they appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The appeal court mostly sided with Barnes and ruled that the handwritten addendum was legally binding and that Penthouse could not republish the photos using her real name.

In 1982, Barnes starred in Aaron Spelling made-for-television film The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch.

She stayed in the show to the series finale in 1984, appearing in a total of 70 episodes.

After Three's Company was cancelled by ABC in 1984, Barnes began appearing in guest-starring roles on television shows, including Hotel; Murder, She Wrote and Highway to Heaven.

In 1987, she starred in the pilot for the sitcom She's the Sheriff, playing the title role.

Barnes later left the project and was replaced by Suzanne Somers.

The following year, Barnes returned in a starring role in the action comedy Traxx opposite Shadoe Stevens.

In 1989, Barnes appeared in the James Bond film Licence to Kill as Della Churchill, and in the underwater sci-fi/action thriller Lords of the Deep.

In 1992, she starred in the NBC television movie Perry Mason and the Case of the Reckless Romeo, with Raymond Burr, and in the horror film Stepfather III.

In 1995, she appeared in the cult comedy film Mallrats, and The Crossing Guard opposite Jack Nicholson and directed by Sean Penn.

In the 1998 TV program E! True Hollywood Story, Barnes called Three's Company the "three worst years" of her life.

Barnes revealed that after shooting a couple of episodes of the show, she felt "uncomfortable" on the set - mostly due to tension between the cast - and asked (unsuccessfully) to be released from her contract.

She remained friends with co-stars Joyce DeWitt and Richard Kline, with whom she made public appearances.

Barnes made cameo appearance in the 1999 comedy-drama film Mumford, and appeared in many other smaller independent and made-for-television movies during 1990s and 2000s.

Barnes was portrayed by actress Anne Ross in the 2003 television movie Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company.

Her most notable role was in the 2005 horror film The Devil's Rejects directed by Rob Zombie.

Her other credits include Thr3e (2006), The Visitation (2006), and American Cowslip (2009).

From 2014 to 2019, Barnes played Magda Andel in the CW comedy-drama series, Jane the Virgin.

Barnes was born in Fort Dix, New Jersey, the third of four children of a father who was a major in the United States Air Force and her mother a homemaker.

Her childhood was marked by a series of moves across various military bases in the United States before her family settled 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.