Priscilla Barnes Bio
Priscilla Barnes (born 1953 or 1954) is an American actress whose career spans more than five decades across television, film, and stage. She first gained widespread public attention as Terri Alden on the ABC sitcom Three’s Company, a role she played from 1981 to 1984. Beyond that signature part, she has built a varied résumé with appearances in action, thriller, horror, and comedy productions, including Licence to Kill (1989), Mallrats (1995), and The Devil’s Rejects (2005). More recently, she portrayed Magda Andel on the CW comedy-drama Jane the Virgin from 2014 to 2019.
Early Life and Background
Priscilla Barnes was born in Fort Dix, New Jersey, the third of four children. Her father served as a major in the United States Air Force, and her mother worked as a homemaker. Because of her father’s military career, her childhood was marked by frequent moves between bases across the country before the family eventually settled in Lancaster, California.
After graduating from Antelope Valley High School at the age of 17, Barnes relocated to San Diego. There she supported herself with jobs as a waitress and a dancer while laying the groundwork for a future in entertainment. Her early interest in performance would soon lead her toward larger stages and auditions.
Path to Acting
Barnes’ first break arrived when comedian 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. Encouraged by the experience, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting professionally. Her early screen work included appearances as an Amazon in The New Original Wonder Woman alongside Lynda Carter.
At the age of 19, Barnes met actor Peter Falk, who offered her a one-line part in an episode of Columbo. That small opportunity opened the door to a string of bit parts in films such as The Seniors (1978) and Delta Fox (1979). In 1976, she also began studying acting with coach Sal Dano, whose other students included Tom Selleck, Robert Hays, and Catherine Bach.
Priscilla Barnes Career
Early Career (1973–1980)
Throughout the mid-1970s, Barnes accumulated television credits on shows such as Starsky & Hutch, Vega$, Kojak, The Rockford Files, and The Love Boat. In 1978, she landed a leading role on the CBS action series The American Girls, though the program was canceled after only seven weeks on the air. She also starred in the 1979 television film A Vacation in Hell and appeared in a supporting role in the 1980 romantic comedy Sunday Lovers.
In 1976, while working as a hostess at a Hollywood nightclub, Barnes posed for a layout in Penthouse magazine under the pseudonym Joann Witty. When the magazine later attempted to republish the photos under her real name in 1982, Barnes took the matter to court. The case ultimately reached the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled mostly in her favor and established an important precedent about handwritten addenda to model release contracts.
Breakthrough (1981–1984)
In 1981, Barnes was cast as Terri Alden on Three’s Company after Jenilee Harrison had briefly filled in for Suzanne Somers, who had exited the series over a contract dispute. The role became the most recognizable of her career and earned her instant public attention. She had originally auditioned for the part of Chrissy Snow in 1976 but lost that opportunity to Somers.
Barnes stayed with Three’s Company through its final episode in 1984, appearing in a total of 70 episodes. Although the role brought her fame, she later described the experience as the “three worst years” of her life in the 1998 television program E! True Hollywood Story, citing tension among the cast. Despite those difficulties, she has remained close friends with costars Joyce DeWitt and Richard Kline.
Notable Works and Milestones
After leaving Three’s Company, Barnes continued to work steadily in Hollywood, starring in made-for-television films such as The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch (1982) and later in the James Bond film Licence to Kill (1989) as Della Churchill. She also appeared in the cult comedy Mallrats (1995) and in Jack Nicholson’s drama The Crossing Guard (1995). She later joined Rob Zombie’s horror hit The Devil’s Rejects (2005) and the independent film The Visitation (2006).
Later Career (1990s–2019)
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Barnes kept a busy schedule of guest television appearances on shows including Hotel, Murder, She Wrote, and Highway to Heaven. She starred in the 1987 pilot for the sitcom She’s the Sheriff before stepping away from the project, which was eventually recast with Suzanne Somers. She later returned to features with the 1988 action comedy Traxx opposite Shadoe Stevens.
In 2014, Barnes joined the cast of the CW comedy-drama Jane the Virgin in the recurring role of Magda Andel, the mother of Petra, played by Yael Grobglas. She appeared in 41 episodes across the show’s five-season run, which ended in 2019. Beyond television and film, she has continued to pursue theater work, including a 2007 appearance at the New York International Fringe Festival as Hillary Clinton in the play Hillary Agonistes and a 2019 role in Christy Hall’s To Quiet the Quiet.
Priscilla Barnes Award Nominations
No verified award nominations for Priscilla Barnes are available from the provided sources, so this section is omitted in favor of accuracy.
Priscilla Barnes Awards Won
No verified award wins for Priscilla Barnes are available from the provided sources, so this section is omitted in favor of accuracy.
Priscilla Barnes Family
Priscilla Barnes was born into a family shaped by military service. Her father was a major in the United States Air Force, and her mother worked as a homemaker. She grew up as the third of four children and spent much of her childhood moving between military bases across the country before her family settled in Lancaster, California.
Personal Life
Priscilla Barnes married actor Ted Monte in 2003, and the couple has remained together since. Beyond her marriage, she has maintained a low public profile about other personal matters, focusing much of her public attention on her ongoing work in film, television, and theater.