Belinda Balaski was born in December 1947 in California. At the age of five she began acting in theatrical productions around her area, but by the time she was 27 that love for acting began to segway into a career in film and television. Her first on screen credit was a guest spot on a single episode of “The FBI” in 1974. It turned out to be a great year for her, with numerous roles booked, including the supporting role of Janet in nature strikes back film Locusts. The following year she was a guest actress on television shows like “Baretta” and “SWAT.” This cycle of bouncing between horror and science fiction films and television shows would become the normal trend of her career.
Also in 1975 she had a small role in crime-drama Death Scream, a movie inspired by the tragic murder of Kitty Genovese. 1996 saw her return to horror as a supporting character in Food of the Gods. Belinda landed more guest spots on television shows like “Starsky and Hutch” in 1977 and “Charlie’s Angels” in 1978 until she had a particularly noteworthy year in horror. She played the lead role of Anne in Till Death (1978) followed by the supporting role of Betsy in Roger Corman’s original Piranha (1978). Her career slightly dwindled after that, although she continued to book jobs in Hollywood, nothing was particularly standout.
That all changed again when Belinda played the supporting role of Terry in The Howling in 1981. This horror film seemed to jumpstart her career again and with a few years she was back in the limelight. Her biggest television spot was as a guest on “The A-Team” in 1983, which she followed up with another classic horror film in Gremlins (1984) as Mrs. Joe Harris. She would return for Gremlins 2: The New Batch in 1990 as a featured extra in the movie theater scene. Bouncing back to television again, she started a lengthy career in this field with appearances on numerous “ABC Weekend Specials,” “ABC After School Specials,” and “CBS After School Specials,” all of which were nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards.
In that time she also had a small role in the scifi-comedy Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), but again, she mostly stuck with television for a while. The shows Balaski booked guest appearances on include “Our House” and “Santa Barbara” in 1988, “Reasonable Doubts” in 1992, “Rebel Highway” in 1994 and “Baywatch” in 1996. She also had a recurring role on “Falcon Crest” in 1989. Of course, she finished off the 1990s with very small roles in scifi’s The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy (1998) and Small Soldiers (1998).
So, where is Belinda Balaski now?
She’s had just one credit since the new millennium began, a cameo in the short film The Vampire Hunters Club in 2001. However, she is currently attached to werewolf flick Hallow Pointe, which has been stuck in development Hell for several years, and is also attached to another horror film, Blackstar Canyon, which is currently in pre-production. Horror fans who love and adore her can find her doing convention appearances (as of 2014) and hosting screenings of her movies at local theaters.
She also started her own business in the late 80s, BB Kids Acting School, a school of the arts that gives tutorials and seminars on the art of theatre, musical, and commercial performances.
