Veronica Hamel is a retired model and Hollywood actress, who is mostly known for her role of Joyce Davenport, the public defender in the “Hill Street Blues” TV series.

Early life and family

Veronica Hamel was born on 20 November 1943, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA, so she holds American nationality and her zodiac sign is Scorpio. Veronica’s father was a carpenter, while her mother was a housewife, taking care of her kids. It is known that Veronica was not an only child in her family, yet there is no information on the number of her siblings, as she likes to keep her private life low-key. From her early years, Veronica knew that she was beautiful enough to start a modelling career, so she dreamt about it since becoming a teenager.

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However, she had to work as a secretary for a factory which produced ironing board covers to save some money, and to feel independence from her parents.

Educational background

Veronica matriculated her local high school in Philadelphia at the age of 17 in 1960, and instantly started working as a model. She tried to study at Temple University, but her tight work schedule left her no choice but to quit college and to focus on her modelling career, which brought her a lot of money despite her young age.

Career

Modelling career

In her interview with People magazine in 1982, Veronica shared that she started working as a model anonymously, and enjoyed the fact that she could hide her real name.

Discovered by Eileen Cecile Ford, the co-founder of Ford Models, 17-year-old Veronica began modelling for Vogue, participating in multiple photoshoots and catwalk shows; her pictures in haute couture dresses are now called ‘iconic’ by many sources and magazines. She had a chance to wear the legendary Mondrian dress, created by Yves Saint Laurent, captured in September 1965 by one of the most famous photographers of those times, Helmut Newton.

Veronica worked as a model for more than a decade, earning six-figure salaries and frequently having a chance to travel around the globe. She is also famous for appearing in the last cigarette commercial that was on air in the US, as Richard Nixon, who was the president of the US those years, signed legislation which banned cigarettes advertising on TV and radio.

Veronica Hamel

The last cigarette commercial appeared on TV right at midnight between 31 December 1970 and 1 January 1971 during an advertising block of “Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show”; Veronica could be seen in the short episode of the ad.

However, by the age of 30 Veronica had got bored (she insists it was her own decision and not the lack of job offers) and decided to conquer Hollywood as an actress. In 1971 she appeared as a model in the movie “Klute” starring Jane Fonda and Charles Cioffi, which made her think she made the right choice, so she closed all her modelling contracts and prepared to move to ‎Los Angeles.

Starting an acting career

In 1975 Veronica landed her first role in Hollywood, portraying Elenora in the episode “How Cruel the Frost, How Bright the Stars” of the TV series “Kojak”.

In 1976 she appeared in such series as “The Bob Newhart Show”, “Starsky & Hutch”, “Switch” and “The Rockford Files”. She then played Vicki Webber in one of the episodes of “Family”, and Laura Koshko in the TV mini-series “79 Park Avenue”. Veronica struggled a lot during her first years in Hollywood, as she was always offered similar roles of beautiful women who don’t talk too much, and mostly smile while being filmed: ‘There’s a stigma put on models—that you can’t walk and talk at the same time, let alone act. So you have to work twice as hard’, she remembers her first years of acting experience in one of her interviews to People. On that note, she declined an offer to become an Angel for “Charlie’s Angels” series; she was considered for the role of Kelly Garrett, but when the producers knew about her decision to turn down the role, they chose Jaclyn Smith instead.

Veronica remembers her agents were ‘in tears, had stokes, convulsions’ when they found out the news on her turning down the offer, but Veronica felt she made the right choice, finally quitting the dull pattern of living off her looks. ‘They said it would make me a star. But I said, ‘You’re talking about my life, my work—and I’ll be miserable’, she recalled the situation.

Starring in “Hill Street Blues”

After several years of landing episodic roles in such series as “The Eddie Capra Mysteries”, “The Hustler of Muscle Beach” and “Eischied”, Veronica was cast for the series “Hill Street Blues” in 1981. She landed the role of Joyce Davenport, an independent, dedicated and smart defense attorney, and that role made her truly famous. Veronica shared that she liked the role as both Joyce and Veronica herself were ‘not appendages’, and lived on their own, never living through anyone else.

However, in a few years of portraying the public defender, Veronica felt a little uncomfortable to film in the sixth season of the series: ‘We feel the changes, obviously – I was not happy about it and I don’t think anybody was happy about it – but <…> everybody was trying to be professional and supportive and get it going again’, she said in her interview with The Morning Call in 1985. The show was rumored to be closed after the sixth season, yet none of the cast wanted to talk about it. In 1986 the seventh season was aired, after which the series eventually end. Veronica wanted to play more comedy roles, as she admired Kay Kendall, the late British comedian, so after “Hill Street Blues” was cancelled, Veronica was ready to jump into other series.

Further career

Done with “Kane & Abel” (1985) mini-series, in which Veronica played Kate Kane, the actress mostly appeared in TV films, as if she was fed up with series.

Veronica Hamel

She could be seen in such TV films as “A New Life” (1988), “She Said No” (1990), and “Stop at Nothing” (1991). She also played leading roles in “The Disappearance of Nora” (1993), “The Conviction of Kitty Dodds” (1993) and “A Child’s Cry for Help” (1994). Veronica landed the role of Lily Munster in “Here Come the Munsters” (1995), that of Sadie in “Talk to Me” (1996), and the role of Jennifer in “Stranger in My Home” (1997).

Among her latest works there are episodes of such series as “Touched by an Angel”, “The Division”, “The Fugitive” and “Philly”. From 2002 to 2003, Veronica appeared in several episodes of the series “Third Watch”, then played Margo Shephard in episodes of the popular series “Lost” from 2004 to 2010. She also played Commissioner Hayes in “Bone Eater” in 2008.

Personal life, ex-husband actor Michael Irving

In 1971 Veronica married her fellow actor Michael Irving; the couple lived together for more than 10 years, divorcing in 1981. In 1982 Veronica shared that she was not pitying at all being alone: ‘I have many friends. We organize tennis tournaments on Sundays. I have some close women friends I don’t think I could live without—that holds it all together’, she shared in her interview with People. Michael Irving was one of the co-founders of the Half Moon Theatre, which in 1990 was turned into the Half Moon Young People’s Theatre. Michael is an experienced stage and screen actor, who played in such productions as “Rough Music” and “Apart from George”, and in movies and series including “Lou Grant” (1977 – 1981), “Personal Services” (1987) and “How To Be” (2008), starring Robert Pattinson and written and directed by his son from his second marriage, Oliver Irving.

35 years ago today in 1984, the cover of #TVGuide featured #VeronicaHamel and #DanielJTravanti of the NBC police drama #HillStreetBlues. pic.twitter.com/cWZBDnZU7X

— Silver Age Television 📺 (@SilverAgeTV) March 24, 2019

Hobbies, favorite things and interesting facts

Veronica was an avid equestrian, however, she had to give up jumping as she was starring in “Hill Street Blues”, so any injuries could put the whole show under risk.

In 1972, Veronica and Michael Irving bought the house in Brentwood which was earlier owned by Marilyn Monroe. When the couple started replacing the roof, they discovered a telephone tapping system and bugging eavesdropping devices which covered every single room of the house. The most interesting fact was that all those devices were not commercially available in the years Marilyn lived in the house, but some experts recognized them as ‘standard FBI issue’.

Veronica and Michael had to spend over $100,000 to clean their house from the system.

After divorce from Michael, Veronica rented another house in Brentwood, not wanting to leave the area she liked so much. She admitted that she couldn’t afford to buy the house of her dreams as it would cost her around $1 million, yet her house was big enough to have parties and barbecues, even for such big companies as the whole cast of “Hill Street Blues”.

Appearance

Veronica has long naturally curly dark brown hair and green eyes. She is 5ft 8ins (1.76m) tall, but her current weight and vital statistics are not available.

Net worth and salary

As of 2020, Veronica’s net worth is reported to be around $4 million. Of course her annual income depends on her commitments during any specific year.

Who is Holly Hallstrom?

Holly Anne Hallstrom was born in San Antonio, Texas USA, on 25 August 1952 – her zodiac sign is Virgo and she holds American nationality. She is a former model, retired actress and a TV personality, who is still perhaps best known for having served as a model in the game show “The Price Is Right” from 1977 to 1995.

What is she doing today or has she died?

There are rumors circulating the internet about how Holly died sometime in the early 2000s, as she hasn’t been appearing on TV or in the media, however, it is known that she decided to retire from appearing in TV shows in the late ‘90s, but came back on several occasions when invited as a guest in talk shows.

Today, Holly is renting-out several houses that she owns, and is leading a peaceful life in San Antonio.

Early life and education

Holly was raised alongside her younger sister in San Antonio, by the girls’ father who was a car mechanic, and their mother who was a housewife.

Holly grew up being focused on her studies, and when she enrolled at a local high school, she and her peers started reading girly magazines and watching models on TV – this is when Holly began dreaming about becoming a famous model one day, but still focused on her studies, and after matriculating in 1970, she enrolled at a college.

While still attending college, she visited Los Angeles in California, and there began working as a model which led her to quit college and focus on her career.

Career as an actress and a TV personality

Holly’s first appearance in a TV show was what made her famous – “The Price Is Right” starred Bob Barker, Janice Pennington and Dian Parkinson, and followed multiple contestants competing to win cash, cars and vacations. All the games in the show were related to the consumer goods pricing, and was a huge hit, winning 48 awards and being nominated for 122 others.

In 1980, Holly appeared as a panelist in two episodes of the comedy family game show “Match Game PM”, and in 1984 featured in the TV special “TV’s Funniest Game Show Moments”.

She made her debut TV series appearance in 1989, when she was cast to portray Newlywed Woman in the episode “The Nutt Cracker Suite” of the comedy “The Nutt House”, and in 1993 Holly made an uncredited appearance as the Spin the Wheel Girl in the action comedy crime movie “Loaded Weapon 1”. In the same year, she guest starred in a single episode of the game show “Family Feud”., and the following year made her second movie appearance when she played The Female Office

Holly Hallstrom

r in the short science fiction adventure comedy “Galaxy Beat”. Two years later, Holly played The Toothpaste Spokesperson in the adventure science fiction thriller movie “The Tomorrow Man”.

She featured in the TV special “The Price Is Right 25th Anniversary Special” in 1996, and in 2002 guest starred in a single episode of the documentary series “E! True Hollywood Story”. Her final two appearances on TV were captured in 2005, when she guest starred in an episode of the mini-series “Game Show Moments Gone Bananas”, and an episode of the talk show “The View”.

Filling a lawsuit

Holly was let go from “The Price Is Right” in 1995 by the show’s host Bob Barker, and subsequently claimed that she was dismissed because she gained 14lbs (6.4kgs), also that she was let go because she wouldn’t support Bob when he was sued for sexual harassment by Dian Parkinson, a former American model.

Bob counter-sued Holly, but dropped the suit two days before the trial began, and had to pay Holly’s legal fees – this motivated Holly to sue Bob, and the legal fight went on for years before it was settled in October 2005. During the years she fought Bob in court, Holly used all her savings, sold her house to pay for her lawyer, and lived in a car for a year. She eventually received several million dollars as settlement, and could’ve received more if she had accepted to not talk about Bob in the media ever again – she launched a foundation which has since been helping people who have been mistreated at their workplace.

After the models Kathleen Bradley and Janice Pennington, production assistants Sherrill Paris and Linda Riegert, and the director Paul Alter all testified against Bob, they were fired from the show – every one of them sued Bob, accepting out-of-court financial settlements, while Paul was eventually invited to come back to the show which he accepted in 2000.

Love life and relationships

Holly has kept details of her love life hidden from the media’s attention since she launched her modelling career, and there are rumors circulating the internet that she dated several men during those years she was shooting for “The Price Is Right”. Many of her fans claimed that they saw her walking hand in hand with several men in a period of three months, but Holly has never agreed to comment on her love life – it is also believed by some that she is a lesbian, while two of her fans have even claimed to have seen her kissing her female friend at a Los Angeles club.

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As of September 2020, Holly is single, she hasn’t married and doesn’t have children.

Hobbies and other interests

Holly has ventured into the real estate industry, and is the owner of several houses around San Antonio, most of which she leases, while she is today living in one of these.

She apparently spent her entire life being on a strict diet, eating mostly vegetables and fruits, and it wasn’t until she was done with modelling that she became interested in tasting various cuisines and travelling around the world – she has been to many European countries with her favorite being France, especially its capital city Paris, and she has also travelled to Asia on multiple occasions visiting China and Japan.

She is a lover of animals, and has had many pet dogs and cats.

Holly likes to watch movies late at night, and her favorite actors and actresses are Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, and some of her favorite movies are “Titanic”, “Catch Me If You Can” and “Good Will Hunting”.

Net worth

Holly’s age is 68. She has long brown hair and blue eyes, her height is 5ft 11ins (1.8m) and she weighs around 155lbs (70kgs).

As of September 2020, her net worth has been estimated at over $10 million.

Who is Frances Bean Cobain?

American visual artist and model Frances Bean Cobain was born in Los Angeles, California USA, on 18 August 1992, making Leo her zodiac sign. She’s perhaps known best for being the only child of the late American rock ‘n’ roll musician Kurt Donald Cobain and his former wife Courtney Michelle Love, an American singer-songwriter, actress and guitarist; Frances is the owner of publicity rights to Kurt’s image and name.

Image source

Education and early life

Frances was raised in Los Angeles solely by her mother, as her father committed suicide on 5 April 1994, when she was less than two years old; he revealed in his suicide note that he no longer felt excited when listening and creating music – a large amount of heroin was found in his body. The last time that Frances saw her father alive was on 1 April 1994, when she visited him at the rehabilitation facility Exodus Recovery Center.

Frances was named after famous Scottish singer-songwriter Frances McKee, perhaps best known for being a member of the Indie band The Vaselines; American actress and author Drew Blythe Barrymore and American singer-songwriter and artist John Michael Stipe are Frances’ godparents. Her mother was arrested on drug-related charges in October 2003, and Frances then spent a year and a half living with her grandmother.

She studied at a local high school in Los Angeles, and was mostly into singing and dancing during her time there; upon matriculating in 2010, Frances enrolled at Bard College, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in art in 2014.

Frances’ career

Frances was only 14 years old when she launched her modelling career, posing for the British magazine “Elle” while wearing Kurt’s pajama pants and brown cardigan; then aged 16, Frances posed for the magazine “Harper’s Bazaar”. She was 19 when she modeled for Hedi Slimane’s web photo series, while the year 2016 saw her pose together with Canadian singer-songwriter Alice Glass for the magazine “Schon!”; in 2017, Frances became the face of Marc Jacobs’ Spring/Summer collection.

It’s back! Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck has returned to @HBO @hbogo! pic.twitter.com/KqD5l16CY8

— Brett Morgen (@brettmorgen) August 27, 2019

She launched her career as an artist in July 2010, when her collection of artwork ‘Scumfuck’ was exhibited at the Los Angeles gallery La Luz de Jesus; Frances used the pseudonym ‘Fiddle Tim’ for the exhibit. She took part in the art show “MiXTAPE” on 4 August 2012, using her real name, and on 7 June 2017, Frances and American artist Lindsey Way held a joint art exhibition at Pasadena’s Gallery 30 (California).

Frances also spent a year working for the magazine “Rolling Stone” as an intern, while it’s believed that she was invited to play Alice in the critically acclaimed 2010 adventure fantasy movie “Alice in Wonderland”, but which she rejected. She produced the 2015 documentary movie “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck”, which is about her father’s life.

In 2019, Frances served as a guest judge on the critically acclaimed competition show “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars”.

YouTube channel

Frances doesn’t have a YouTube channel, but has allowed for her fan channel “Aine Cobain” to be launched; it was created on 26 February 2013 and today numbers more than 60,000 subscribers, while all of its videos combined number more than 7.4 million views. Most of these feature Frances singing and playing the guitar, and we’re about to cover the three most popular amongst these, as they’ve contributed to her popularity on the internet.

Frances’ #1 video “Angel – Frances Bean Cobain” has been watched more than 2.1 million times since 19 June 2019, and it’s her original song.

Her second most popular video “Frances talks about life without Kurt Cobain” has been watched close to a million times since 19 July 2018, and features her talking about growing up and living without a father.

Frances’ #3 video “Through Time – Frances Bean Cobain” was uploaded on 13 December 2018, has since been watched over 500,000 times, and is her original song.

Love life and relationships

Frances dislikes speaking about her love life in public, and often refuses to answer questions related to it in interviews, however, we still know about two men whom she’s dated.

She began dating American musician Isaiah Silva in either 2010 or 2011; he’s probably only known for being a member of the rock ‘n’ roll band The Eeries. The two married on 29 June 2014, but Frances filed for divorce on 23 March 2016; it was finalized on 30 November 2017.

Since 2020, she’s been in a relationship with American musician and professional skateboarder Hudson Riley Hawk, who’s perhaps only known for being the son of famous American professional skateboarder and entrepreneur Anthony Frank ‘Tony’ Hawk.

Frances hasn’t spoken of other men whom she’s maybe been with, and there are rumors circulating the internet claiming that she’s bisexual, but she’s yet to address these; she’s in a relationship with Hudson Riley Hawk as of April 2023, was once married to Isaiah Silva, and doesn’t have children.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Frances enjoys being active on Instagram, and has uploaded 50 pictures and videos onto her account, while more than 1.5 million people are following her on the social media network; most of her pictures are art which has been created by her, while others show her spending time with her friends and family members.

She’s a fan of tattoos, and has several inked onto her arms and back.

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Frances is a huge cat-lover, and also likes dogs and parrots.

She’s passionate about travelling, and has been to various US states and European countries, mostly for work, while her favorite city for vacationing is Miami, Florida.

Frances has revealed that her favorite Nirvana songs are “Dumb” and “Territorial”, as well as that she prefers the bands Mercury Rev, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Oasis over Nirvana.

Helena Bonham Carter’s her favorite actress, while some of Frances’ favorite movies are “Fight Club”, “Enola Holmes 2” and “Corpse Bride”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Frances’ age is 30. She has brown hair and blue eyes, is 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall and weighs around 115lbs (52kgs).

Frances’ net worth’s been estimated at over $200 million, as of April 2023, nearly all of which she inherited from her father.