Blue-eyed, red-haired American character actress, often seen as resolute, strong-willed women. Though born in Kansas, Barbara Babcock spent much of her early childhood in Japan, where her father, U.S. Army Major General Conrad Stanton Babcock Jr., was posted (he was also a noted equestrian, who competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics). Her mother was Chilean-born Jadwiga Florence Noskowiak (1903-2000), a former stage actress and singer.
Babcock attended universities in Lausanne and Milan and later graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She initially interviewed for a job with the State Department, aiming at a diplomatic career. When this fell through, she turned to acting, debuting on screen in 1956. From the early 60s, Babcock made guest appearances in numerous television series. She ultimately became best known for her Emmy Award-winning performance as the over-amorous Grace Gardner in NBC's Polizeirevier Hill Street (1981) and as pioneer newspaper editor Dorothy Jennings in Dr. Quinn - Ärztin aus Leidenschaft (1993) (a regular role, lasting from 1993 to 1998).
Babcock featured several times on Raumschiff Enterprise (1966), though it was more often her voice that was utilized for assorted alien background characters. She also played a member of the 'underground' in episodes of Ein Käfig voller Helden (1965) and Pam Ewing's fashion boss in Dallas (1978). Babcock was one of the leads in Alan Alda's sitcom The Four Seasons (1984), about four middle-aged couples who vacation together four times annually, once per season. In this, she played the orthopedist wife of Allan Arbus (of M*A*S*H (1972) fame). Babcock subsequently starred in her own right as a demure attorney, counterpoint to Jerry Orbach's vociferous, seedy 'old school' gumshoe, in the short-lived CBS mystery drama Privatdetektiv Harry McGraw (1987). One might also remember her as one of the (ill-fated) residents of Brennen muß Salem (1979) and as a repeat guest star on Mannix (1967) and (alternating between murder victim and villainess of the week) in Mord ist ihr Hobby (1984).
Her occasional forays to the big screen tended to be in smaller supporting roles, first up as an Apache kidnap victim in the Glenn Ford western Totem (1968). More recently in maternal roles, she portrayed an Irish immigrant, the mother of Nicole Kidman's character, in Ron Howard's big budget western In einem fernen Land (1992). Her last motion picture appearance was as the wife of test pilot and would-be-astronaut Frank Corvin (Clint Eastwood) in Space Cowboys (2000).
Barbara Babcock retired from acting in 2004, the year she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In her private life, she has had a lifelong interest in travel and exploration and has dabbled in writing. She is known as an avid crusader for animal rights.
