Joanna Barnes

Joanna Barnes didn't come to Hollywood looking for an opportunity; she found one while researching a magazine article. A graduate of Smith College in 1956 with honors in English literature, her profile was far from that of the typical aspiring actress of the era.

That academic background gave her a polished coolness that casting directors quickly learned to exploit. Her serious breakthrough came in 1958 with Auntie Mame, where she played the insufferable Gloria Upson. The critics loved her performance, and it typecast her for good in roles as wealthy, haughty, dangerously clever women.

And it worked.

The Art of Playing the Perfect Villain

In 1960 she appeared in Spartacus under the direction of Stanley Kubrick, playing Helena Glabrus. But general audiences remember her mostly for her role in the 1961 film The Parent Trap. There she played Vicky Robinson, the gold-digging fiancée who tried to split the leads apart with icy elegance.

The film industry is often cruel to actresses as they age, but Barnes had a backup plan waiting on her typewriter. She never stopped thinking of herself as a writer who, by a twist of fate, also acted in front of the cameras.

She published her first novel, The Deceivers, in 1970 and made the bestseller lists. It was no vanity project. Her prose was sharp and precise, far removed from the romantic memoirs her fellow actresses were publishing.

She was far more than just a pretty face.

Disney's Symmetry

Her career came full circle in an unusual way in 1998. Disney decided to remake The Parent Trap and called her in for a role that was a direct nod to fans of the original film. This time she played Vicki Blake, the mother of the woman trying to marry for money.

It was a smart production move that connected two generations of viewers without needing much explanation. Barnes took on the challenge as naturally as she wrote her newspaper column Touching Home during the 1970s.

Her television presence was steady for decades, with appearances in series such as The Beverly Hillbillies and Fantasy Island. But her real refuge was Sea Ranch, a coastal community in California where she spent her final years surrounded by books and quiet.

She passed away on May 29, 2022, at the age of 87, due to health complications from lung cancer.