Barra Grant (born Barbara Carol Wayne) is an American actress, screenwriter, film director and playwright.
Biography Grant was born Barbara Carol Wayne in New York City, the daughter of Allan Wayne, a doll company executive, and Bess Myerson, Miss America 1945. Her parents divorced in 1958 due to her father's abuse. She became Barra Grant when her mother married Arnold Grant and he adopted her in 1962.Jewish Women's Archive: Bess Myerson http://jwa.org Retrieved on December 30, 2010. She was educated at the Birch Wathen Lenox School, Bryn Mawr College, and Barnard College. She also went to London for three years to study acting.
Grant began an acting career in the early 1970s, appearing on television and in film. One of her first roles was as Lulie in the BBC series Take Three Girls. While acting at The Mark Taper she was inspired to start writing. In 1978, she wrote and appeared in the film Slow Dancing in the Big City. She began her directing career with an episode of NBC Special Treat titled "The Tap Dance Kid", based on a novel by Louise Fitzhugh.
Grant was married to writer and producer Brian Reilly until his death in 2011.
Filmography Film Year Title Director Writer 1978 Slow Dancing in the Big City 1984 Misunderstood 2005 Life of the Party 2009 Love Hurts
Acting roles Year Title Role1972Daughters of SatanChris RobertsonIt Ain't EasyAnn1976Mother, Jugs & SpeedMiss Crocker1978Slow Dancing in the Big CityMildred
Television Year Title Director Writer Notes 1978 Special Treat Episode "The Tap Dance Kid" 1987 CBS Summer Playhouse Episode "Mabel and Max" 1989 Dirty Dancing Episode "Hit the Road" 1990 TV special 1991 CBS Schoolbreak Special Episode "Lies of the Heart" 1992 Freshman Dorm Episode "The Last Sonnet" 1994 Living Single Episode "U.N.I.T.Y. (a.k.a. Five Card Stud)";Also executive consultant of 7 episodes
Acting roles Year Title Role Notes1971Take Three GirlsLulieMain roleSargeChristina"A Terminal Case of Vengeance"1972Judy Conrad"The Courtship of Mary's Father's Daughter"1973Eve Tanner"Tightrope to Tomorrow"Love, American StyleBoni"Love and the Baby Derby"GunsmokeTeresa"The Widowmaker"Barnaby JonesMarie Hubble"Stand-In for Death"1974Trapped Beneath the SeaGrace WallantsTV filmRoll, Freddy, Roll!Sidni Kane1975Let's Switch!Morgan Ames1976Good HeavensKiki"Coffee, Tea, or Gloria"SerpicoMarilyn"The Country Boy"1977Sylvia GrantTV film1978Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air ForceSusan Hewman
Stage plays A Mother, a Daughter and a Gun (2006)."Barra Grant" The New Yorker Magazine Retrieved on December 30, 2010. Miss America's Ugly Daughter, about her relationship to her mother, first performed on July 14, 2018, at The Edye, Santa Monica, California.MISS AMERICA'S UGLY DAUGHTER Returns to Greenway Court Theatre (January 8, 2019)
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