Jane Powell

Jane Powell has done it all: films, television, theatre, radio, the concert stage, sound recordings, nightclubs, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and now, the lecture circuit.

Although instantly remembered as the star of 20 major MGM musicals, including the classics "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and "Royal Wedding," Powell has appeared in every entertainment medium and has also won acclaim as a dramatic actress and comedienne. On Broadway, she starred in "Irene." On tour she broke house records in more than a score of American cities, headlining in such productions as "South Pacific," "My Fair Lady," "Peter Pan," "The Sound of Music," "Carousel," "Brigadoon," "The Boy Friend," "Little Mary Sunshine," "Oklahoma!," "The Student Prince," and "I Do, I Do." Off Broadway she co-starred in "After Play" and most recently, in "Avow," for which she won unanimous rave reviews for her performance as an enthusiastically religious grandmother-to-be. For her role in "Same Time, Next Year," she received the Drama-Logue Award. And in 2003, she co-starred in Stephen Sondheim's new musical "Bounce," directed by Harold Prince.

In the era of television specials, she guest starred on virtually every one. More recently, she has appeared in sitcoms and daytime dramas. She hosted the PBS series, "The Musicals," for five years, and was the young grandmother in the television series, "Growing Pains." Daytime drama credits include "Loving," "As the World Turns," and "One Life to Live." Recently, she was featured as a charitable matriarch in Showtime's "Sandy Bottom Orchestra," and as a mental patient on the television series "Law & Order."

Born in Portland, Oregon, Powell was 12 when she had two shows on local radio stations, one of which entered her in a Hollywood talent contest. She won, and was signed the next day to an MGM contract. At 14, she became a movie star without ever having been given a screen test.

Powell's autobiography, The Girl Next Door and How She Grew, offers a vivid and compelling account of her life. An advocate for good health and fitness, her exercise video, "Fight Back with Fitness," was designed to help people with arthritis, and was produced in conjunction with The Arthritis Foundation. On the lecture circuit, Powell speaks on fitness, renewal and growth in the "golden years," as well as her life in Hollywood. She is a gourmet cook, and enjoys gardening, reading and entertaining friends. She exercises daily -- and hates it -- but still weighs the same 100 pounds that she did in her MGM days.