Donna Gail Pescow (born March 24, 1954) is an American film and television actress and director known as Annette in Saturday Night Fever, Angie Falco-Benson in Angie, Donna Garland in Out of This World and Eileen Stevens in Even Stevens.
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Early life
Pescow was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 24, 1954, into a Jewish family. Her father Marty owned and ran a newsstand in downtown Manhattan at 17 Battery Place. Pescow attended Sheepshead Bay High School in Brooklyn and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Around 1973, she had a leading role in an Off-off Broadway musical entitled Poor Old Fool, though it closed after just a few weeks.
Career
In 1977, Pescow played Annette in the John Travolta film Saturday Night Fever. To prepare for the role, she had to relearn her Brooklyn accent, which she had significantly reduced for professional reasons. For this role, she was the New York Film Critics' third-place choice for their award for Best Supporting Actress.
Also in 1977, Pescow joined the cast of the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, portraying Celena Arquette. The role proved to be brief, lasting less than a year, but it helped to launch her television career, including roles on two other ABC soap operas in later years.
