Nearly every article about actress Brenda Vaccaro, 79, references her husky voice. Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Dallas and appeared in several Thomas Jefferson High School productions. Now she has an Emmy, a Golden Globe, three Tony nominations and an Oscar nomination. Standout performances were in “Cactus Flower,” “The Goodbye People,” “Once Is Not Enough” and the 1969 film “Midnight Cowboy.” She also vamped it up on ’80s TV shows such as “The Love Boat” and “Golden Girls.”
Three things to know
1. Vaccaro’s father Mario Vaccaro, an attorney who had always been interested in cooking, came to Dallas and cofounded Mario’s restaurant.
2. She lived with actor Michael Douglas for several years before breaking it off. “There was this really strong connection — spiritually, sexually, and so overpowering I could not handle it,” she said in Closer Weekly. “Everything was different back then. There were a lot of drugs. We hung out with Angelica Huston and Jack Nicholson, and it was a crazy time. I’ve had the most amazing life!”
3. Married four times, Vaccaro’s current husband is 20 years her junior. When the California resident landed a part in Netflix’s series “Gypsy,” which filmed in New York, she jumped at the chance. “We’re married 30 years,” she told Page Six. “I told him, ‘The hell with it. Getting a job like this is fortunate. Until I get nominated, you sit in L.A. and rot.’ ”
