Adrienne King
The actress who portrayed the original final girl of Camp Crystal Lake.
via Wikipedia: Adrienne King · see source
Adrienne King (born July 21, c. 1955–1956) is an American actress, visual artist, and winemaker. She is known for her portrayal of Alice Hardy in the slasher film Friday the 13th (1980) and its sequel, Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981). Born and raised in Oyster Bay, New York, King was placed in commercials by her mother beginning at six months old, and worked as a child actor in her early years. She made her film debut in the television film Inherit the Wind (1965), followed by uncredited appearances in Between the Lines (1977), Saturday Night Fever (1977), and Hair (1979).
Quick Facts
- Born
- July 21, during the mid-1950s (age 21 July 1956–21 July 1955)
- Birthplace
- Oyster Bay, New York, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actress
- artist
- winemaker
- Education
- Fashion Institute of Technology, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
- Years active
- 1965–present
- Spouse
- Richard Hassanein (1987)
Lore & Background
In 1979, while King was appearing in a commercial for Burger King, she was referred to producer Sean S. Cunningham through a mutual friend for a role in his directorial debut, the horror film Friday the 13th. Cunningham, impressed by King's naturalistic acting, felt she embodied the qualities of the film's lead heroine, Alice Hardy, and cast her in the film. Friday the 13th was a major box-office success, grossing nearly $60 million worldwide. The following year, she reprised her role as Alice Hardy in the sequel Friday the 13th Part 2, in which the character meets her demise during the film's opening sequence. King's character of Alice has been retrospectively assessed as a "standardization" of the "final girl" template in slasher films following the Laurie Strode character in Halloween (1978).
Reader's Guide
King relocated to London in 1984, where she enrolled for a summer program at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, studying voice and dance. Upon finishing her studies, she returned to the United States, settling in Los Angeles. Reluctant to appear onscreen, King reemerged doing voice acting and ADR work, first for Mel Gibson's The Man Without a Face, and the Lasse Hallström-directed drama What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (both 1993). She continued to provide voice work for numerous Hollywood productions throughout the 1990s, including Philadelphia (1993), The Pelican Brief (1993), Wolf (1994), Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire (1996), and James Cameron's Titanic (1997). She would later state: "Voiceover work saved me. There's no question it came all around full circle, and I'm a better, more compassionate and stronger actor and artist."
In 2008, King was inducted into the Horror Hall of Fame at the Phoenix Film Festival. In 2010, she returned to acting in the low-budget horror film Psychic Experiment. King followed this with roles in The Butterfly Room (2012), Tales of Poe (2014), Killer Therapy (2019), and the Friday the 13th fan film Jason Rising (2021). In 2023, King was attached to the forthcoming Peacock series, Crystal Lake, a prequel series to the original 1980 film, though the series remains in development as of 2025.
Did You Know?
- King was placed in commercials by her mother beginning at six months old, with her first appearance in a commercial for Ivory soap.
- She studied and graduated from New York's Fashion Institute of Technology with a degree in fine arts.
- She married Robert Tuckman on November 29, 1981, and later married Richard Hassanein, founder of United Film Distributors, in 1987.
- Since 2005, she has resided with her husband in Oregon's Rogue Valley.
More in People & Notable Figures
Elsewhere in Friday the 13th
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