Diane Franklin

Starting at age ten, Diane Franklin's professional career began with modeling, commercials, soap opera and theater. Her first feature film role was as Karen in the 1982 teen film, "The Last American Virgin." Her dark, curly hairstyle grew much attention from this film, inadvertently kick-started a curly-hair fashion trend and inspired her pictorial autobiography "Diane Franklin: The Excellent Curls of the Last American French Exchange Babe of the 80s." Her next film role was playing the troubled daughter, Patricia Montelli, in "Amityville II: The Possession" (1982.) Franklin also starred in TV movies "Summer Girl" (1983) and "Deadly Lessons" (1983) as well as television roles on "Charles in Charge" (CBS, 1983-84) and "Murder She Wrote" (CBS, 1984-96). In 1985, Franklin won her most beloved role as the spirited French-exchange student, Monique Junot, in the cult dark-comedy "Better Off Dead" (1985). She then returned to film starring in the cult horror-parody, "TerrorVision" (1986) and "How I Got Into College (1989). Franklin is best-known for her role as the medieval babe, Princess Elizabeth, in the time-travelling comedy "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989). In 2018, Franklin had the honor to play the role of Louise Defeo in "Amityville Murders" (2019), based on a true story written and directed by Daniel Farrands. Franklin reunited with Farrands in "Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman" (2021). The cast also includes her daughter, Olivia DeLaurentis. Upcoming projects include Brian Farmer's horror film "Waking Nightmare," "High Holiday;" a comedy with Cloris Leachman as well as a tribute book about "Better Off Dead."