This 1980s Hollywood icon, now 70, has a fascinating career spanning music, film, and television. She first gained attention as a DJ at New York City nightclubs in the late 1970s, including Club 57 and the Mudd Club, where she mingled with artists like Keith Haring.
Soon, she transitioned into acting. She famously kissed David Bowie in the 1983 vampire thriller The Hunger, which also starred Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve. She also shared a steamy scene with River Phoenix in one of his early roles, 1988’s The Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon. Later, she appeared alongside Harrison Ford in 1994’s Clear and Present Danger and more recently joined Star Trek: Picard with Patrick Stewart.
During a rare public appearance in Los Angeles on Monday, the star sported a playful hat, a black jacket over a graphic T-shirt, and brown plaid pants while holding a cat-themed mug.
This accomplished actress is Ann Magnuson.
Born in West Virginia, Magnuson moved to New York City after college in 1978 to pursue fame. She began as a nightclub DJ and performer, eventually fronting the faux-heavy metal band Vulcan Death Grip in 1987, before focusing on acting. Her first film role was as a cigarette girl in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), starring Madonna and Rosanna Arquette. She followed this with Making Mr. Right (1987) alongside John Malkovich.
Music remained a constant passion, and she became the lead singer of the band Bongwater, active from 1985 to 1992. In 1989, she earned a steady television role as Catherine Hughes, editor-in-chief of a Chicago magazine, on the sitcom Anything But Love, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Richard Lewis; the show ran until 1992.
Throughout the 1990s, Magnuson appeared in films such as Small Soldiers, Tank Girl, Tequila Sunrise, and Love at Large, and guest-starred on TV series including The Hidden Room, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The John Larroquette Show, The Drew Carey Show, Caroline in the City, Frasier, and CSI: Miami.
In the 2000s, she toured a one-woman stage show, Pretty Songs & Ugly Stories (2003–2006), releasing an album of the same name. In 2007 and 2008, she performed in the cabaret act Dueling Harps. More recently, she appeared in The Man in the High Castle (2018) as Caroline Abendsen for five episodes and in the first season of Star Trek: Picard as Fleet Admiral Kirsten Clancy.
Magnuson has been married to architect John Bertram since 2002 and lives in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
