Janet Lansbury

Janet Lansbury
PerformerTOS
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Portrays:	Lt. Brie
Date of Birth:	July 10, 1959
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month! ,
Age:	66
Nationality:	USA
Related Media
		@ BW Media
Official Site
IMDb profile

Janet Lansbury (born Janet Louise Johnson on 10 July 1959) is an American former actress, model, and current parenting educator who portrayed Lieutenant Brie in the Original Series. She is also credited as Janet Julian for much of her acting career.

Early Life and Modeling Career

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Lansbury grew up in the San Fernando Valley as the third of four daughters. She began her entertainment career at age 12 with the role of an innkeeper's daughter in an episode of Glen A. Larson's television series Alias Smith and Jones in 1973.

After graduating from North Hollywood High School in 1976, where she was elected homecoming princess, Lansbury attended the University of California, Los Angeles for one year before moving to New York City to pursue modeling.

As a teenager, Lansbury lived in modeling agent Eileen Ford's brownstone in New York and worked as a print and commercial model, appearing in advertisements for Teen and Seventeen magazines and commercials for Herbal Essences shampoo. She also made a guest appearance on The Mike Douglas Show modeling clothes.

Reflecting on this period, Lansbury later described being "catapulted into a fast-paced life as a teenager" and acknowledged that she "lacked the maturity to handle all that came my way." She experienced the nightlife of the era, including dancing at Studio 54 and socializing with celebrities, but found some situations overwhelming.

Acting Career

Television Work

Lansbury's breakthrough role came in 1978 when she won the part of Nancy Drew in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, replacing Pamela Sue Martin who had left the series.

Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, she made guest appearances on numerous television shows, including The Waltons, Simon and Simon, Swamp Thing (as Dr. Ann Fisk), Falcon Crest (as Cookie Nash in 1989), Murder, She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, Columbo, 240 Robert, and Fudge.

Battlestar Galactica

In the Original Series, Lansbury portrayed Lieutenant Brie, one of the female Colonial Warriors serving aboard Galactica. Her character appeared in "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I", "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part II", and "War of the Gods, Part I."

Other Glen Larson Productions

Lansbury appeared in several other Glen A. Larson productions throughout her career, including B.J. and the Bear (as Tommy), The Fall Guy, and Knight Rider. She later humorously noted that she was "one of the few actresses who can brag about costarring with a chimp (B.J. and the Bear), killing a monster in the movie Humongous, and falling in love with Swamp Thing on TV."

Film Career

Lansbury's first film role was as a Party Girl in the 1978 John Milius film Big Wednesday, where she was credited as Janet Johnson. She appeared in several notable films including the 1982 slasher film Humongous, and two films directed by Abel Ferrara: Fear City (1984) and King of New York (1990) where she played Jennifer.

Personal Life

Lansbury married Michael Lansbury, the nephew of actress Angela Lansbury, on 6 May 1990. She met her future husband at a dinner party in the Hollywood Hills after becoming "completely fed up with dating" in her late twenties.

The couple has three children, who are now grown adults. Lansbury left acting in 1995 specifically to focus on raising her family.

Career Transition to Parenting Education

RIE Training and Teaching

After the birth of her first child, Lansbury sought guidance from renowned infant expert Magda Gerber, who became her mentor in the early 1990s. Inspired by Gerber's philosophy, Lansbury became a RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers) Parent/Infant Guidance Class instructor.

She has served on the Board of Directors of Resources for Infant Educarers since 1995 and teaches RIE Parent/Infant Guidance Classes. Her approach focuses on treating "babies as whole people from the very beginning and respecting them."

Writing and Media Career

In 2009, Lansbury began a parent education blog that grew to include over 400 posts. She has published two bestselling books: Elevating Child Care: A Guide to Respectful Parenting and No Bad Kids: Toddler Discipline Without Shame.

In 2015, she launched "Janet Lansbury Unruffled," a weekly podcast series about respectful parenting that addresses common parenting issues through the lens of respectful childcare philosophy. The podcast became top-ranked in its category and is recommended listening by The Washington Post. She has recorded over 200 episodes and also offers private parenting consultations.

Her parenting advice philosophy emphasizes seeing children as "unique, capable human beings with natural abilities to learn without being taught" and focuses on building relationships with children from birth.

References