Ellen Foley

Ellen Foley is an American singer and actress born on June 5, 1951, in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of John and Virginia B. Foley. She attended Webster University before relocating to New York City, where she studied acting at HB Studio. Her Broadway career spanned from 1977 to 1987 and included productions of Hair, Me and My Girl, and Into the Woods.

Foley first gained widespread public recognition as the female voice on "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," a duet with Meat Loaf from the 1977 album Bat Out of Hell, which went on to sell 14 times platinum. Her vocals were recorded in a single take, with Meat Loaf present in the studio so she could sing in character. Although Karla DeVito appeared in the music video for the song, DeVito was lip-synching to Foley's recorded vocals. DeVito had toured with Meat Loaf in support of the album.

Foley released her debut solo album, Night Out, in 1979. Produced by Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson, the album peaked at No. 152 on the US charts. Its single "What's a Matter Baby" reached No. 7 in the Dutch charts and No. 92 in the United States, while "We Belong to the Night" reached No. 1 in the Netherlands. That same year, she contributed vocals to the title track of the Blue Öyster Cult album Mirrors. In 1980, she recorded the duet "We Gotta Get Outta Here" with Ian Hunter and sang backing vocals on the Iron City Houserockers' album Have a Good Time but Get Out Alive!, which Hunter, Ronson, and Steven Van Zandt of The E Street Band produced. She also appeared on The Clash's album Sandinista!, released in 1980, singing on "Hitsville UK" and "Corner Soul," as well as on the unreleased track "Blonde Rock 'n' Roll."

Her second solo album, The Spirit of St. Louis, was released in 1981. All four members of The Clash participated in the record, with Mick Jones and Joe Strummer co-writing several of its songs. Jones produced the album, which also featured members of The Blockheads and peaked at No. 137 on the US charts. The Clash's song "Should I Stay or Should I Go," written and performed by Jones, was connected to his relationship with Foley at the time. In 1982, she contributed backing vocals to "Car Jamming" from The Clash's Combat Rock. Her third album, Another Breath, followed in 1983 but did not chart. In 1984, she sang backing vocals on Joe Jackson's Body & Soul and appeared in the music video for Utopia's "Crybaby."

In the late 1980s, Foley was one of four female vocalists to front Pandora's Box, a group formed by Jim Steinman. The ensemble released the album Original Sin in 1989, which was the first recording to feature "It's All Coming Back to Me Now," a song that later achieved separate chart successes for Celine Dion and for a duet between Meat Loaf and Marion Raven. Foley has released five solo albums in total, with About Time appearing in 2013 and Fighting Words in 2021.

On Broadway, Foley appeared in the revival of Hair and in Me and My Girl. She originated the role of The Witch in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods during its pre-Broadway run at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego, but was replaced by Bernadette Peters before the production opened on Broadway. Foley ultimately performed the role on Broadway from August 1, 1989, through the show's closing on September 3, 1989. She also appeared off-Broadway in Beehive.

In film, Foley had a role in Miloš Forman's 1979 adaptation of Hair, as well as in Fatal Attraction in 1987, Married to the Mob in 1988, and Cocktail in 1988. On television, she co-starred in the short-lived 1977 NBC series 3 Girls 3 alongside Debbie Allen and Mimi Kennedy. Her most prominent television role was Billie Young on the NBC sitcom Night Court during its second season, from 1984 to 1985, after which she was succeeded by Markie Post as Christine Sullivan. In the mid-2000s, Foley taught voice at the School of Rock in Manhattan, founded by Paul Green.

In 1990, Foley married writer Doug Bernstein, co-author of the off-Broadway revue Showing Off. They have two children, Henry and Timothy.