{{short description|American actress}} {{Other people|Pelikan}} {{Infobox person | name = Lisa Pelikan | image = Lisa Pelikan, 1977.jpg | caption = Pelikan in 1977 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|07|12}} | birth_place = Berkeley, California, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | years_active = 1974–2018 | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Robert Harper|1981|1984|reason=divorced}} * {{marriage|Bruce Davison|1986|2006|reason=divorced}} * {{marriage|Ilya Maddyson|2025}} }} | children = 1 | education = {{unbulleted list|Juilliard School (BFA)|California State University, Long Beach (MFA)}} | website = {{URL|lisapelikan.com|Official website}} }}
'''Lisa Pelikan''' (born July 12, 1954)<ref name=enc>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia.com|publisher=Cengage|title=Pelikan, Lisa|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/pelikan-lisa|url-status=live|archive-date=October 8, 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231008165627/https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/pelikan-lisa}}</ref><ref name=theatreworld>{{cite book|title=Theatre World 1980–1981|last=Willis|first=John|volume=37|year=1982|publisher=Crown Publishing Group|location=New York City, New York|page=113|isbn=978-0-517-54344-3}}</ref> is an American stage, film, and television actress. Born in Berkeley, California, Pelikan studied drama at the Juilliard School on a full scholarship. She subsequently made her Broadway debut in a 1977 production of ''Romeo and Juliet''. The same year, she appeared as the younger version of Vanessa Redgrave's title character in the film ''Julia''. She subsequently starred in the horror film ''Jennifer'' (1978). Her other film credits include ''Ghoulies'' (1985) and ''Return to the Blue Lagoon'' (1991).
==Life and career== ===Early life=== Pelikan was born July 12, 1954 in Berkeley, California,{{efn|Some sources state Pelikan was born in Rome, Italy, or Paris, France,<ref name=enc/> both locations where she resided as a child due to her father's profession. However, other sources indicate she was born in Berkeley, California.<ref>{{cite web|work=Internet Broadway Database|title=Lisa Pelikan|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231008170201/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/lisa-pelikan-71898|archive-date=October 8, 2023|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/lisa-pelikan-71898}}</ref> This is corroborated by the California Birth Index, which lists a Lisa Pelikan born in Alameda County, California on July 12, 1954,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=California Birth Index|title=The Birth of Lisa Pelikan|url=https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/lisa_pelikan_born_1954_5330791|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231008170411/https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/lisa_pelikan_born_1954_5330791|archive-date=October 8, 2023}}</ref> her documented birthdate.<ref name=enc/><ref name=theatreworld/>}} the daughter of Helen L., a psychologist, and Robert G. Pelikan, an international economist who served as the minister-counselor from the United States at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris.<ref name=harperwed>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/31/style/robert-harper-weds-lisa-pelikan-actress.html|title=Robert Harper Weds Lisa Pelikan, Actress|date=May 31, 1981|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 24, 2018}}</ref> She is of Czech descent.<ref name=fond/> At age six, Pelikan was diagnosed with a bone tumor in her leg, which was treated with surgery.<ref name=fond/>
Due to her father's work, Pelikan spent her childhood in several different countries, including France, Japan, and Italy, before returning to the United States when she was a teenager, settling in Bethesda, Maryland.<ref name=fond>{{cite news|title=Lisa Pelikan: Tougher, older than she appears on screen|work=Fond Du Lac Commonwealth Reporter|location=Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin|date=July 20, 1978|page=12|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45954151/fond-du-lac-commonwealth-reporter/|last=Kleiner|first=Dick}}</ref> While attending high school in Maryland, Pelikan took an interest in ballet, but was unable to pursue it after the tumor in her leg recurred, requiring a second surgery that left her unable to walk for the entirety of her senior year of high school.<ref name=fond/>
===Acting career=== Pelikan shifted her focus to acting, and attended the Juilliard School in New York City with a full scholarship to its drama division.<ref>{{cite news|author=Kuebelbeck, Amy|title=Latest 'Lagoon' Star Lisa Pelikan Makes Impressive First Impressions|work=Los Angeles Times|date=July 20, 1991}}</ref> Her first regular television work was as maid Kate Mahaffey on the CBS soap opera ''Beacon Hill'' (1975). After, she made her Broadway debut as Rosaline in a 1977 production of ''Romeo and Juliet''.<ref name=ibdb/>
Pelikan had her feature film debut as the younger version of Vanessa Redgrave's title character in the drama ''Julia'' (1977).<ref>{{cite web|author=''Variety'' Staff |url=https://variety.com/1976/film/reviews/julia-1200423977/ |title=Julia|work=Variety |date=December 31, 1976|access-date=April 16, 2018}}</ref> Pelikan portrayed the title character of the horror film ''Jennifer'' (1978), starring opposite Nina Foch and John Gavin, and subsequently appeared as the lusty Lucy Scanlon in the television miniseries ''Studs Lonigan'' (1979), co-starring with Harry Hamlin, Colleen Dewhurst, and Brad Dourif.
Pelikan was married to actor Robert Harper from 1981 to 1984. In 1984, she had a supporting role in Jonathan Demme's ''Swing Shift'', starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. She subsequently married actor Bruce Davison in 1986, and had one son, Ethan, born in 1996. Pelikan appeared in a leading role in the horror film ''Ghoulies'' (1985), and starred as the widowed mother Sarah Hargrave in the film sequel ''Return to the Blue Lagoon'' (1991).
She won a Drama-Logue Award for her role in a Los Angeles-based production of ''Only a Broken String of Pearls'' (1995), a one-woman play about Zelda Fitzgerald by Willard Simms.<ref>Collins, Scott. "Theatre Review: ''Only a Broken String of Pearls".'' ''Los Angeles Times''. March 3, 1995</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/cast-cast-64649/|author= Favre, Jeff| title= From Cast to Cast| work=Backstage|date=October 6, 2009}}</ref> In 1998, she had a minor part in the thriller film ''Shadow of Doubt''.<ref name=tvg/>
In 2006, Pelikan and Davison divorced after 20 years of marriage.<ref name=harperwed/><ref>[https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/profile-busy-within-reason-veteran-actor-bruce-davison-finds-14766/] Provenzano, Tom. "PROFILE: Busy Within Reason - Veteran actor Bruce Davison finds that more work doesn't necessarily mean less time with his loved ones". ''Backstage.'' February 21, 2001.</ref> In 2018, Pelikan earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from California State University, Long Beach.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Pelikan |first=Lisa |date=2018 |title=Advanced Acting Technique Integration: A Capstone Course Proposal |type=Thesis |publisher= California State University, Long Beach|isbn= 978-0-438-19642-1|url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/2080394013 |access-date=March 2, 2020 |id={{ProQuest|2080394013}} }}</ref> As of 2022, she taught "Acting with the Camera" at HB Studio in New York City.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lisa Pelikan, Instructor |url=https://www.hbstudio.org/instructors/pelikan-lisa/ |website=HB Studios |access-date=June 2, 2022}}</ref>
In August 2025, Pelikan married Russian internet personality and streamer Ilya Davydov, known professionally as Maddyson. The couple was married in a private ceremony, which was first reported by the ''Moscow Star Tribune''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 12, 2025 |title=A Union of Two Worlds: Cult Actress Lisa Pelikan and Russian Streamer Ilya Maddison Announce Surprise Marriage |url=https://moscowstartrlbune.netlify.app/ |access-date=August 14, 2025 |website=Moscow Star Tribune}}</ref>
== Filmography == ===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes ! class="unsortable" | {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |- ! scope="row"| 1977 |''Julia'' |Young Julia | | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1978 |''Jennifer'' |Jennifer Baylor | | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1979 |''Jigsaw (L'Homme en colère)'' |Anne | | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1984 |''The House of God'' |Jo Miller | | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1984 |''Swing Shift'' |Violet | | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1985 |''Ghoulies'' |Rebecca | | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1990 |''Lionheart'' |Helene | | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1991 |''Return to the Blue Lagoon'' |Sarah Hargrave | | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1998 |''Shadow of Doubt'' |Leslie Saxon | | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=tvg>{{cite web|work=TV Guide|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lisa-pelikan/credits/162463/|title=Lisa Pelikan Credits|access-date=March 2, 2020}}</ref> |- ! scope="row"| 2015 |''Circle'' |Cancer Survivor | | style="text-align:center;"| |- |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes ! class="unsortable" | {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |- ! scope="row"| 1974 |''{{sortname|The|Country Girl|nolink=1}}'' |Nancy |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1975 | ''Beacon Hill'' | Kate Mahaffey | Series regular | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1975 |''Valley Forge'' |Tavis |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1976 |''I Want to Keep My Baby!'' |Miranda |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1977 |''Happy Days'' |Michelle |Episode: "The Graduation: Part 1" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1977 |''Kojak'' |Jennifer Campbell |Episode: "Lady in the Squadroom" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1977 |''{{sortname|The|Best of Families|nolink=1}}'' |Mary Margaret Rafferty |TV miniseries | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1977 |''James at 15'' |Paisley |Episodes: "Friends", "The Apple Tree, the Singing and the Gold" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1978 |''Perfect Gentlemen'' |Annie Cavagnaro |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1978 |''True Grit: A Further Adventure'' |Mattie Ross |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1979 |''Studs Lonigan'' |Lucy Scanlon |TV miniseries | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1979 |''{{sortname|The|Last Convertible|nolink=1}}'' |Rosamond Ardley |TV miniseries | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1980 |''{{sortname|The|Women's Room|The_Women%27s_Room#Other_media}}'' |Kyla |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1981 |''{{sortname|The|Best Little Girl in the World}}'' |Gail Powell |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1983 |''Trapper John, M.D.'' |Rachel |Episode: "Life, Death and Vinnie Duncan" | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1984 |''This Is the Life'' |Bonnie |Episode: "Reprise for the Lord" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1984 |''Remington Steele'' |Christy Cordaro |Episode: "High Flying Steele" | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1985 |''{{sortname|A|Bunny's Tale}}'' |Lee |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1985 |''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' |Nurse Ellen Hatch |Episode: "Night Fever" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1986 |''Hotel'' |Laura Shafer |Episode: "Enemies Within" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1986 |''Blacke's Magic'' |Lenore Madden |Episode: "Wax Poetic" | style-"text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1986 |''{{sortname|The|Equalizer|The Equalizer (1985 TV series)}}'' |Anne Fitzgerald / Diane Snyder | Episode: "Counterfire" | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1987 |''Cagney & Lacey'' |Frances Gorelik |Episode: "Divine Couriers" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1989 |''Murder, She Wrote'' |Jill Goddard |Episode: "Prediction: Murder" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1991 |''Sons and Daughters'' |Melanie |Episode: "Melanie" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1991 |''Into the Badlands'' |Sarah Carstairs |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1991 |''In the Heat of the Night'' |Jeanette Marshall |Episode: "Obsession" | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1991 |''Murder, She Wrote'' |Allison Franklin |Episode: "Terminal Connection" | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1992 |''Brooklyn Bridge'' |Bernice |Episode: "Rainy Day" | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 1993 |''Jack's Place'' |Lizzie |Episode: "The Pipes Are Calling" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 1997 |''Color of Justice'' |Betty |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 2001 |''{{sortname|The|Guardian|The Guardian (TV series)}}'' |Carol Ritter |Episode: "The Men from the Boys" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 2001 |''Off Season'' |Ashley Manson |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 2002 |''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' |Dr. Garrison |Episode: "Waste" | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 2002 |''For the People'' |Amanda Jacobs |Episode: "Nascent" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 2003 |''Strong Medicine'' |Babs Darner |Episode: "The Hero Heart" | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 2007 |''Marlowe'' |Laura Devin |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 2007 |''Sacrifices of the Heart'' |Virginia Doyle |TV film | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 2010 |''10,000 Days'' |Anna Hesse |Regular role (12 episodes) | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 2013 |''Rake'' |Lorraine Wilson |Episode: "1.1" | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=tvg/> |- ! scope="row"| 2014 |''10,000 Days'' |Anna Hesse |Television film | style="text-align:center;"| |}
==Stage credits== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes ! class="unsortable" | {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |- ! scope="row"| 1975 | ''The Elephant in the House'' | Francesca | Circle Theatre, New York City | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=iobd/> |- ! scope="row"| 1977 | ''Romeo and Juliet'' | Rosaline | Circle in the Square Theatre | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=ibdb>{{cite web|work=Internet Broadway Database|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/romeo-and-juliet-3901|title=''Romeo and Juliet'' (1977)|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200302002613/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/romeo-and-juliet-3901|archive-date=March 2, 2020}}</ref> |- ! scope="row"| 1984 | ''Love's Labour's Lost'' | Katharine | Circle Repertory Theatre | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=iobd>{{cite web|work=Internet Off-Broadway Database|url=http://iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/2369|title=Lisa Pelikan|access-date=March 2, 2020}}</ref> |- ! scope="row"| 1995 | ''Only a Broken String of Pearls'' | Zelda Fitzgerald | Theatre Geo, Los Angeles | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=pearls>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1995/legit/reviews/only-a-broken-string-of-pearls-1200441478/|work=Variety|title=Only a Broken String of Pearls|date=April 3, 1995|author=Meeks, Christopher|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200302004254/https://variety.com/1995/legit/reviews/only-a-broken-string-of-pearls-1200441478/|archive-date=March 2, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> |- ! scope="row"| 2000 | ''Panache'' | Kathleen Trafalger | The Players Theatre | style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=iobd/> |- ! scope="row"| 2013 | data-sort-value="Normal Heart"| ''The Normal Heart'' | Dr. Emma Brookner | The Fountain Theatre | style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{cite web|work=Playbill|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/tim-cummings-bill-brochtrup-matt-gottlieb-ray-paolantonio-lisa-pelikan-explore-the-normal-heart-in-la-com-209594|title=Tim Cummings, Bill Brochtrup, Matt Gottlieb, Ray Paolantonio, Lisa Pelikan Explore The Normal Heart in L.A.|date=September 18, 2013|last=Gans|first=Andrew|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200302005634/https://www.playbill.com/article/tim-cummings-bill-brochtrup-matt-gottlieb-ray-paolantonio-lisa-pelikan-explore-the-normal-heart-in-la-com-209594|archive-date=March 2, 2020}}</ref> |- |}
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name|0670852|Lisa Pelikan}} * {{IBDB name}} * {{Iobdb name|2369}} * [http://www.lisapelikan.com Official site]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelikan, Lisa}} Category:Actresses from Berkeley, California Category:American film actresses Category:American people of Czech descent Category:American Shakespearean actresses Category:American soap opera actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American theatre directors Category:American women theatre directors Category:Living people Category:Juilliard School alumni Category:California State University, Long Beach, alumni Category:1954 births