Ronee Blakley Movies and Career Information

Ronee Blakley (born August 24, 1945) is an American entertainer. Though an accomplished singer, songwriter, composer, producer and director, she is perhaps best known as an actress. Her most famous role was as the fictional country superstar Barbara Jean in Robert Altman's 1975 film Nashville, for which she won a National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for an Academy Award. She also had a notable role in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Blakley was born in Nampa, Idaho, daughter of civil engineer Ronald Blakley and his wife Carol. Blakley’s early years were spent in the Pacific Northwest where she was selected as Idaho's representative to Girl's Nation while in high school. She studied at Mills College, Stanford University, and went to New York to attend Juilliard for post-graduate work. Blakeley began in New York improvising vocally with Moog synthesizers in Carnegie Hall to music by Gershon Kingsley. Her first soundtrack was composed for the 20th Century Fox film Welcome Home Soldier Boys and earned her a spot in Who's Who in America. In 1972, the folk-rock album Ronee Blakley debuted on Elektra Records and featured Blakley’s original songs,