# Dee Wallace
**Dee Wallace** (born Deanna Lee Bowers; 1948) is an American actress from [Kansas City, Kansas](https://www.edgepedia.org/kansas-city-kansas), best known for playing mothers in horror and science-fiction films of the late 1970s and early 1980s, most notably Mary, the mother in [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg)'s *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial* (1982).[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/dee-wallace/credits/3060121018/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908914/) Her other signature roles from the same period are the werewolf-hunted television anchorwoman Karen White in *The Howling* (1981) and Donna Trenton, trapped with her son by a rabid Saint Bernard, in *Cujo* (1983).[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/236979-Dee-Wallace?isMiscCredit=False) After that run of genre hits she settled into a long career of guest roles on television and work in independent horror, and she has also worked as an acting teacher and as an author of self-help books.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dee-wallace/) • [5](https://iamdeewallace.com/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Deanna Lee Bowers, 1948, Kansas City, Kansas[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/dee-wallace/credits/3060121018/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908914/) |
| Breakthrough roles | Lynne Wood in *The Hills Have Eyes* (1977), Mary Lewis in *10* (1979), Karen White in *The Howling* (1981)[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/236979-Dee-Wallace?isMiscCredit=False) |
| Defining role | Mary, the single mother in *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial* (1982); the film became the highest-grossing film of all time until *Jurassic Park* surpassed it in 1993[6](https://filmtalk.org/2021/04/06/dee-wallace/) |
| Horror peak | *Cujo* (1983), her self-described hardest work, opposite Danny Pintauro; thirteen trained dogs played the title dog[6](https://filmtalk.org/2021/04/06/dee-wallace/) |
| Output | Over 90 feature films by IMDb's count; Wallace herself puts her film total closer to 130[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908914/) • [7](https://www.throughtheblackhole.com/en/english-dee-wallace-interview/) |
| Recent television | Margaret Buckley on *9-1-1*, 2021 to 2026, and guest roles on *Fatal Attraction* (2023) and *The Boroughs* (2026)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908914) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dee-wallace/) |
| Writing | Author of *Bright Light* and *BORN*, books on self-creation and self-love[7](https://www.throughtheblackhole.com/en/english-dee-wallace-interview/) • [5](https://iamdeewallace.com/) |
## Early life and training
Wallace was born Deanna Bowers and raised in Kansas City in what her press biography calls a loving but impoverished family.[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/dee-wallace/credits/3060121018/) • [8](https://bhbpr.com/DeeWallace/DeeWallaceBioinBrief.pdf) She trained in dance from childhood and was a soloist in two small companies; her mother was a community actress who performed religious plays at church, so performing, Wallace has said, was in her blood from an early age.[7](https://www.throughtheblackhole.com/en/english-dee-wallace-interview/) She attended the [University of Kansas](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-kansas) as a double major in theater and education, then taught a year of high school theater and English while directing local plays.[9](https://eclecticartswa.blogspot.com/2015/03/dee-wallace-interview-from-vaults.html) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dee-wallace/)
In her mid-twenties she sold what she owned, took three summer jobs to raise money, and moved to New York, a city she had never visited and a state she had never left before.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1983/08/21/dee-wallaces-gravy-train/8810d9fe-d53b-4b3e-a124-cd9578d72c90/) She spent two years there, studying with the acting teacher [Uta Hagen](https://www.edgepedia.org/uta-hagen) and supporting herself with commercials and small television parts, before moving to Los Angeles, where she found her mentor, the acting coach Charles Conrad.[11](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/61216/dee-wallace) Conrad encouraged his students not to memorize but to act from intuitive instincts, an approach Wallace has credited as a wellspring of her ability.[8](https://bhbpr.com/DeeWallace/DeeWallaceBioinBrief.pdf)
## The horror decade and E.T.
**A run of genre roles.** Her first film credit, per the [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) catalog, was as Nettie the maid in *The Stepford Wives* (1975).[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/236979-Dee-Wallace?isMiscCredit=False) [Wes Craven](https://www.edgepedia.org/wes-craven) then cast her as Lynne Wood in *The Hills Have Eyes* (1977), about an American family at the mercy of cannibals, and the role began the association with horror that made her a fan favorite.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/236979-Dee-Wallace?isMiscCredit=False) • [6](https://filmtalk.org/2021/04/06/dee-wallace/) [Blake Edwards](https://www.edgepedia.org/blake-edwards) saw her in an episode of *Lou Grant*, in which she played a hooker, and cast her as the barfly who lusts for Dudley Moore in *10* (1979); she has said the film did not put her on the map by itself but gave her good material to expand her career.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1983/08/21/dee-wallaces-gravy-train/8810d9fe-d53b-4b3e-a124-cd9578d72c90/) • [12](https://filmtalkweb.substack.com/p/interview-with-dee-wallace-actress) Producer Daniel Blatt then cast her as the werewolf-hunted anchorwoman in Joe Dante's *The Howling* (1981), which co-starred her husband, Christopher Stone, as her on-screen husband.[6](https://filmtalk.org/2021/04/06/dee-wallace/)
**E.T.** Spielberg had auditioned her for *[Used Cars](https://www.edgepedia.org/used-cars)* (1980); when *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial* came along, his office offered her the part of Mary directly.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1983/08/21/dee-wallaces-gravy-train/8810d9fe-d53b-4b3e-a124-cd9578d72c90/) • [13](https://gojimmygo.net/2012/04/13/a-conversation-with-dee-wallace/) She recalled his explanation: "Dee, I want everybody in the movie to be childlike, and when you came in, you had this vulnerability of a child."[6](https://filmtalk.org/2021/04/06/dee-wallace/) The production was kept secret under the working title *A Boy's Life*, with actors reading the script behind closed doors at the studio, and it was shot largely in sequence for the benefit of the child cast, including [Henry Thomas](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-thomas) and a six-year-old [Drew Barrymore](https://www.edgepedia.org/drew-barrymore).[13](https://gojimmygo.net/2012/04/13/a-conversation-with-dee-wallace/) • [14](https://www.etonline.com/movies/125641_Dee_Wallace_ET_is_Still_Touching_Lives) The film broke previous box-office records and, by one film-history account, became the highest-grossing film of all time until Spielberg's own *Jurassic Park* passed it in 1993.[6](https://filmtalk.org/2021/04/06/dee-wallace/)
**Cujo.** Wallace followed with *[Cujo](https://www.edgepedia.org/cujo-film)* (1983), adapted from [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king)'s 1981 novel and directed by Lewis Teague. She and [Danny Pintauro](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-pintauro) spent the shoot essentially alone with the dog, performing screaming and breakdown scenes day after day; she has called it the hardest thing she has ever done, and after filming ended she was treated for exhaustion for two months.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1983/08/21/dee-wallaces-gravy-train/8810d9fe-d53b-4b3e-a124-cd9578d72c90/) • [12](https://filmtalkweb.substack.com/p/interview-with-dee-wallace-actress) The production used thirteen trained Saint Bernards to play the title dog.[6](https://filmtalk.org/2021/04/06/dee-wallace/) By the time of *Cujo* her fee had risen well past the $50,000 she had been paid for *The Howling*.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1983/08/21/dee-wallaces-gravy-train/8810d9fe-d53b-4b3e-a124-cd9578d72c90/)
## The decades after E.T.
Wallace has said the typecasting she resists dates from *E.T.*: after playing the quintessential mother on screen, she found it easy for casting to put her in mom roles.[9](https://eclecticartswa.blogspot.com/2015/03/dee-wallace-interview-from-vaults.html) She continued steadily, though, in a mix of films and television. [Peter Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-jackson) cast her as a troubled reclusive woman in *The Frighteners* (1996), a role she credits with helping re-establish her, and she appeared in Wes Craven, Joe Dante, and [Rob Zombie](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-zombie) projects, among others.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dee-wallace/) • [15](https://www.flashbackfiles.com/dee-wallace-interview) • [11](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/61216/dee-wallace) On television she has guest-starred across decades, including *Grey's Anatomy*, *Switched at Birth*, *My Name Is Earl*, *The Office*, *Law & Order: Los Angeles*, and *Criminal Minds*, plus a recurring part as Katherine Mayfield on *Shooter*.[11](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/61216/dee-wallace) • [16](https://www.metacritic.com/person/dee-wallace/)
She remains busy in horror, a genre she says her name genuinely helps to get films made in. Recent credits include *3 from Hell* (2019) for Rob Zombie, *Critters Attack!* (2019), and a stream of independent horror titles into the mid-2020s, along with the role of Margaret Buckley on *9-1-1* from 2021 to 2026.[12](https://filmtalkweb.substack.com/p/interview-with-dee-wallace-actress) • [17](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/24824/filmo/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908914) Interviewers have tallied eighteen films on her slate at once, and her credits now run to several hundred across film and television.[18](https://www.fullecirclemagazine.com/2015/11/a-conversation-with-dee-wallace-by.html) • [11](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/61216/dee-wallace)
## Personal life and teaching
Wallace met Christopher Stone on an episode of *CHiPs* and married him; they shared the screen several times in the early 1980s, and he died of a heart attack in October 1995.[13](https://gojimmygo.net/2012/04/13/a-conversation-with-dee-wallace/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908914/) Their daughter, Gabrielle Stone, became an actress.[8](https://bhbpr.com/DeeWallace/DeeWallaceBioinBrief.pdf) Wallace herself taught for several years as the driving force behind the Dee Wallace Stone Acting Studios in Woodland Hills, California.[6](https://filmtalk.org/2021/04/06/dee-wallace/)
Beyond acting, she writes and teaches a self-creation philosophy she describes as combining spirituality, brain science, and religion. Her books include *Bright Light*, on lessons drawn from her acting career, *BORN*, and the children's book *BuppaLaPaloo and the I LOVE MEs*, and she hosts the weekly Conscious Creation radio show and offers private healing sessions.[7](https://www.throughtheblackhole.com/en/english-dee-wallace-interview/) • [5](https://iamdeewallace.com/) She has also worked as an acting coach and public speaker.[6](https://filmtalk.org/2021/04/06/dee-wallace/)
## Reputation
Wallace describes herself as a working character actress rather than a star, noting that she has worked consistently for over forty-five years across comedy, horror, and drama, playing "a sweet mother in a comedy, then turn around and be a psycho killer in a horror film."[12](https://filmtalkweb.substack.com/p/interview-with-dee-wallace-actress) Genre publications treat her as a fixture of 1980s horror and science fiction, and she was guest of honor at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in April 2010.[19](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-den-of-geek-interview-dee-wallace/) • [6](https://filmtalk.org/2021/04/06/dee-wallace/)
## References
1. [Dee Wallace, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/dee-wallace/credits/3060121018/)
2. [Dee Wallace (II), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908914/)
3. [Dee Wallace, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/236979-Dee-Wallace?isMiscCredit=False)
4. [Dee Wallace, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dee-wallace/)
5. [I Am Dee Wallace, official website](https://iamdeewallace.com/)
6. [Dee Wallace interview, Film Talk (2021)](https://filmtalk.org/2021/04/06/dee-wallace/)
7. [Dee Wallace interview and biography, Through the Black Hole](https://www.throughtheblackhole.com/en/english-dee-wallace-interview/)
8. [Dee Wallace bio in brief, BHB Public Relations](https://bhbpr.com/DeeWallace/DeeWallaceBioinBrief.pdf)
9. [Dee Wallace: An Interview from The Vaults 2012, Eclectic Arts](https://eclecticartswa.blogspot.com/2015/03/dee-wallace-interview-from-vaults.html)
10. [Dee Wallace's Gravy Train, The Washington Post (1983)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1983/08/21/dee-wallaces-gravy-train/8810d9fe-d53b-4b3e-a124-cd9578d72c90/)
11. [Dee Wallace, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/61216/dee-wallace)
12. [Interview with Dee Wallace, Film Talk on Substack](https://filmtalkweb.substack.com/p/interview-with-dee-wallace-actress)
13. [A Conversation With Dee Wallace, go.Jimmy.go (2012)](https://gojimmygo.net/2012/04/13/a-conversation-with-dee-wallace/)
14. [Dee Wallace: 'E.T.' is 'Still Touching Lives', Entertainment Tonight (2012)](https://www.etonline.com/movies/125641_Dee_Wallace_ET_is_Still_Touching_Lives)
15. [Dee Wallace interview, The Flashback Files (2020)](https://www.flashbackfiles.com/dee-wallace-interview)
16. [Dee Wallace, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/dee-wallace/)
17. [Filmografie von Dee Wallace, FILMSTARTS.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/24824/filmo/)
18. [The Quintessential Scream Queen Mom: A Conversation with Dee Wallace, Fülle Circle Magazine (2015)](https://www.fullecirclemagazine.com/2015/11/a-conversation-with-dee-wallace-by.html)
19. [The Den of Geek interview: Dee Wallace (2007)](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-den-of-geek-interview-dee-wallace/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames U to We*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license