Biography for
Brenda Dickson More at IMDbPro »

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Brenda Dickson was born on February 3, 1949 in Long Beach, California. She grew up with several brothers. Her dyslexia hampered her education, and she entered beauty contests to raise her self-esteem. When she was seventeen, she won Miss California-World. That led to her joining Bob Hope and his USO Tour to entertain the troops. She also trained with Lee Strassberg at his actor's institute. Then she made her film debut in the horror film "Deathmaster" (1972) and guest-starred in episodic television. She also acted in few stage plays. Her big break came when she originated the role of Jill Foster on the daytime soap opera "The Young and The Restless" in 1973. The show's creator, Bill Bell, gave her an attention-grabbing storyline where she and Jeanne Cooper, who plays Katherine Chancellor, competed for the same man. The show became a success and Dickson gained fame as the fresh-faced ingenue. However, she left the show in 1980 after she married a prominent dentist named Robert Rifkin. The role of Jill was taken over briefly by Bond Gideon, and then by the beautiful Deborah Adair, who transformed the character into a sparkly bad girl. After playing the role for three years, Adair left Y&R in 1983 to take a role on the nighttime series "Dynasty." Bill Bell approached Dickson to return to the show, who by then had divorced her husband, because she missed her acting career. Her return was celebrated, as the show went up in the ratings. Dickson also enjoyed playing the villainess garnering a nomination as the Most Outstanding Villainess by the Soap Opera Digest Award in 1986. In 1987, she left the show, and there's still debate as to what happened. Dickson claimed that she was fired because the producers were unsympathetic to her health problems, and that they badmouthed her, and that she was never cast in acting roles again. The tabloids claimed that Dickson stormed off the set in a snit, while the producers of Y&R claimed that she was unprofessional. There were also reports that Bill Bell was giving choice storylines to his novice daughter, actress Lauralee Bell, and another producer Ed Scott doing the same with his wife actress Melody Thomas-Scott, and because of this, other actors on the show, including Dickson, were getting less screen time, and this created tension. Dickson retaliated with a lawsuit against Y&R producers that dragged on for several years, and she ultimately lost. The only bright spot came when she won the Most Outstanding Villainess Award by the Soap Opera Digest Awards in 1988, a few months after her dismissal. But even that victory seemed hollow, because Dickson's replacement on the show Jess Walton won two Emmy awards for playing Jill, whereas Dickson was never nominated for the prestigious Emmys. In 1997, Dickson seemed excited to start a new phase of her life. She married attorney Jan Weinberg and moved to Hawaii and auditioned for an acting role. She told a daytime magazine, how she and her former employer Bill Bell had a warm exchange when they ran into each other in a restaurant. The warm feelings didn't last however, when in 2001, the still-unemployed actress vented out her anger on the television program "E! True Hollywood Story," claiming that Bill Bell was responsible for ruining her career. Fans, who hadn't seen her on television since 1987, were surprised by her unrecognizable physical appearance. Gone was the fresh-faced brunette from the 1970s, and the feisty villainess of the 1980s. She was a now a red-headed middle-aged woman, looking as young as possible. Nevertheless, Dickson enjoyed the attention she received and launched her official website. But she still wasn't able to land acting roles, even after she changed her hair color to blond. In 2007, Dickson received a very different kind of attention, when she and her second husband waged a war in the divorce court. She wouldn't vacate a marital house that was to be sold, and the judge jailed her twice for contempt. Also, around this same time, her lifestyle video titled, "Welcome to my Home" originally released in 1987, was posted on several video websites and gained notoriety. Dickson's out-dated fashion, make-up, fitness and nutrition tips were mocked, along with her delivery of lines, such as "Well, Hello!" and "This looks good on me and on my figure" as well as "Meet my cat Snow. I'm starving." Viewers, who have seen her meltdown in divorce court on news programs and read her blog entries about her yearning for a now-defunct acting career call her the real-life Norma Desmond, the infamous character from the classic film "Sunset Boulevard." Unfortunately, Dickson didn't get the sympathy that she deserved, because as a lone female, she suffered at the hands of men in both her professional and personal life. It's understandable why it would take a toll on her emotionally. Her fans hope that she will bounce back and explore other entertainment programs, such as reality television which has effectively used former stars.

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Trivia

In 1988, a year after she was fired from "The Young and the Restless" (1973), she won the Most Outstanding Villainess Award at the Soap Opera Digest Awards. Her bitterness over her dismissal from the top-rated daytime soap opera was not evident in her acceptance speech as she was gracious and fun.

Won the title of Miss California World at a beauty pageant when she was seventeen years old.

Changed her hair color over the years from a brunette to a redhead to currently a blonde.

In 1973, she originated the role of Jill Foster Abbott on the daytime serial "The Young and the Restless" (1973). In the film Taxi Driver (1976), Robert De Niro's character kicks down his television set when he watches Dickson play Jill.

She left "The Young and the Restless" (1973) in 1980 to marry a prominent dentist named Robert Rifkin. However, her real-life role as a housewife did not work out, and they divorced. In 1983, she returned to playing Jill again.

In 1987, after Dickson left "The Young and the Restless" (1973), she hosted a vanity video production titled "Welcome to My home," for which she is also credited as writer, director, and executive producer. It resurfaced in several video-based websites twenty years later and has gained unintentional camp status for not only Dickson's outdated fashion show, but also for her makeup, fitness, and nutritional advice.

Her performance as Jill during the 1980s is said to have helped "The Young and the Restless" (1973) reach the top of the ratings.

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