The Amazing Career Of Sandahl Bergman, The Golden Globe Awardee In The 80s
Captivating and statuesque blond performer and actress who first piqued men's interest as the lead dancer in All That Jazz's sexually charged "Airotica" dance sequence in 1979), Sandahl Bergman is an iconic actress that had her name engraved in Hollywood history. She is most known for playing Valeria in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian, for which she received a Golden Globe and a Saturn Award.
Captivating and statuesque blond performer and actress who first piqued men's interest as the lead dancer in All That Jazz's sexually charged "Airotica" dance sequence in 1979), Sandahl Bergman is an iconic actress that had her name engraved in Hollywood history. She is most known for playing Valeria in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian, for which she received a Golden Globe and a Saturn Award.
Sandahl Bergman wearing leather brown boots and minimal clothing for her character, Valeria, in Conan the Barbarian
Sandahl Bergman was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 14, 1951. She went on to Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kansas, where she received her diploma.
During her twenties, she moved to New York City and appeared in several Bob Fosse performances before she became a movie star. From the 1970s to the early 2000s, she flourished in Hollywood entertainment.
Sandahl Bergman and Arnold Schwarzenegger RelationshipSandahl Bergman and Arnold Schwarzenegger never had a romantic relationship. They worked together in Conan the Barbarian in 1982. During a battle scene, Bergman's finger was nearly severed. “Valeria [Bergman's character] would never let that happen,” Milius allegedly yelled instead of asking if the actress was okay. When Schwarzenegger was thrown from a horse on set, he suffered a major knee injury. Schwarzenegger finished the last weeks of filming despite barely being able to walk.
After settling in New York, she started performing in several Broadway productions, capturing the attention of choreographer Bob Fosse, who placed her as a replacement dancer in Pippin.
In 1973, she played a supporting role in the stage adaptation of the film Gigi, and later in Mack & Mabel and as Judy in the acclaimed "new New York cast" of A Chorus Line when many of the original actors left the show in 1977.
Fosse cast her in his critically acclaimed 1978 dance concert/musical Dancin', which featured many of Broadway's finest dancers at the time. Bergman's cinematic career began in 1978 with a minor appearance in the television movie How to Pick Up Girls.
In 1979, she was a featured performer in the Bob Fosse film All That Jazz, in which she was featured in the "Take Off With Us" segment.
She appears as one of the nine immortal Muses in the 1980 film Xanadu, both in the opening song "I'm Alive" by ELO and in the concluding title number of "Xanadu." Bergman's involvement in Xanadu also resulted in her eviction from her New York apartment and eventual move to California. She had been subletting her flat in New York in violation of a stipulation in her lease, and the landlord became aware of the issue during her four months in California for filming. Bergman has stated that she did not return to New York and instead had her stuff packed and shipped to her by friends.
In the 1980s, Bergman also worked as an instructor for the FIRM workout video series.
Her most well-known role was as Valeria in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian, with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bergman's athletic body and dancer's elegance rendered her a powerful force against the myriad of sword-wielding enemies attempting to stop her and Arnold Schwarzenegger. For her role in the film, she received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actress.
She learned to do all of her own stunt work because no stunt ladies of her size could be obtained. She expressed her thoughts on the situation, saying, "It was tough. I nearly lost a finger. Arnold smashed his head against a rock. But that was nothing compared to what the stuntmen went through."
In another Conanesque picture, Red Sonja, she played a different character, Queen Gedren, in 1985. She was offered the lead role but instead chose to play the villain.
Following that, she acted in a number of low-budget films, including Hell Comes to Frogtown in 1987. Her most recent role was as a dancer in the film adaptation of The Singing Detective in 2003 when she was 52 years old. Other roles include a lunar base officer in the film Airplane II: The Sequel, the band Helix's music video "Heavy Metal Love," the Fred Olen Ray film Possessed by the Night, and guest appearances on television shows such as Hart to Hart and a dance scene choreographed by Stanley Donen in an episode of Moonlighting.
Sandahl Bergman Net Worth is approximately $5 Million. She has long retired from the limelight of show business, but her legacy will always be looked up to by many.
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Elisa Mueller, a Kansas City native, grew up surrounded by the wonders of books and movies, inspired by her parents' passion for education and film.
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