Catherine Oxenberg

Infobox actor


name = Catherine Oxenberg
caption =
birthdate = birth date and age|1961|9|22
location = New York City, New York, United States
spouse = Robert Evans (1998-1998)
Casper Van Dien (1999-present)
website = http://www.catherineoxenberg.com

Catherine Oxenberg (Serbian Cyrillic: "Катарина Оксенберг" Latin Katarina Oksenberg) (born September 22, 1961 in New York City) is an American actress, best known for her performance as Amanda Carrington on the 1980s American prime time soap opera "Dynasty". Through her mother, she is a descendant of the Serbian Karađorđević dynasty.

Early life

Born in New York City, Oxenberg is the eldest daughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia (b.1936) and her first husband Howard Oxenberg (b.1919), [http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00025585&tree=LEO Catherine Oxenberg - Geneologics.com] ] a dress manufacturer and close friend of the Kennedy family. Princess Elizabeth is the only daughter of Prince Paul of Yugoslavia (who served as regent for his cousin's eldest son King Peter II of Yugoslavia) and Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark. [http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00025584&tree=LEO Princess Elizabthe of Yugoslavia - Geneologics.com] ] Elisabeth is a first cousin of the current Duke of Kent and also a second cousin of Queen Sofía of Spain and Charles, Prince of Wales. Also, Catherine is a great-great-great-granddaughter of Karađorđe, who started the first Serbian uprising against the Turks in 1804. Catherine Oxenberg's maternal grandmother Princess Olga was a legendary beauty and the sister of Princess Marina, who married the Duke of Kent (uncle of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom), and also a cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh (husband of Queen Elizabeth II). It has been claimed, on basis of portraiture evidence, that Catherine resembles very closely her grandfather's great-grandmother, the Finnish beauty and philanthropist lady Aurora Stjernvall.Fact|date=December 2007 Catherine is in the line of succession to the British throne, though very low on the list.

Catherine was educated at St. Paul's School and Columbia University.

Acting career

Oxenberg made her acting debut in the 1982 made-for-television film "The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana", in which she played her real-life distant relative Princess Diana. In 1984 Oxenberg joined the hit ABC prime time soap opera "Dynasty" — then at its height of popularity [ [http://www.classictvhits.com/tvratings/1984.htm 1984-1985 Ratings - ClassicTVhits.com] "Dynasty" was the #1 American series during the 1984-1985 season.] — in the role of Amanda Carrington, the second daughter of Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) and Alexis Colby (Joan Collins). Oxenberg was the guest host on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series "Saturday Night Live" on May 10 1986, becoming the first (and so far only) royal figure to host the series. She left "Dynasty" in 1986 and the role was recast.

Oxenberg starred in "The Lair of the White Worm" in 1988, and reprised the role of Princess Diana in the TV film "" in 1992. From 1993 to 1994 she starred in the short-lived series "Acapulco H.E.A.T.".

Oxenberg was portrayed by Rachael Taylor in the 2005 telemovie "", a fictionalized retelling of the behind the scenes goings-on during the production of "Dynasty". In 2006, Oxenberg appeared in the TV special, "Dynasty Reunion: Catfights & Caviar", in which she reunited with her former "Dynasty" castmates to reminisce about the series.

Personal life

Conan O'Brien mentioned in a 2000 commencement speech that Oxenberg is listed directly ahead of him in the 1986 Harvard yearbook. [cite web | title = Conan O'Brien's Commencement Speech | url = http://www.february-7.com/features/conan.htm | accessdate = 2008-06-24 ]

Oxenberg's first marriage was to the producer Robert Evans, in Beverly Hills, California on July 12 1998, but the marriage was annulled nine days later. [Archerd, Army. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb1437/is_199807/ai_n5948467&tag=rel.res1?tag=col1;fa_related_widget "Evans and Oxenberg saying 'I do.'"] "Variety", July 1998. Retrieved September 9, 2008.] [Archerd, Army. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb1437/is_/ai_n5949007 "Evans and Oxenberg untie knot."] "Variety", July 1998. Retrieved September 9, 2008.]

Oxenberg met actor Casper Van Dien during the filming of the 1999 TV movie "The Collectors", and they soon worked together again in the 1999 Evangelical Christian thriller "The Omega Code". On May 8 1999 they married in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2005 the couple appeared in their own reality series, "I Married a Princess", which aired on the Lifetime Television channel in the United States and on LIVINGtv in the United Kingdom. During the 2006-2007 TV season, Oxenberg and Van Dien co-starred in the American drama series "Watch Over Me" on MyNetworkTV.

Oxenberg is the mother of India Riven Oxenberg (born June 7 1991), whose father has never been publicly identified, and of two children with Van Dien: Maya (born September 20 2001) and Celeste Alma (born October 3 2003). Van Dien has two children of his own of whom he holds full custody (Cappy Casper "Cappy" Robert Mitchum Van Dien and Caroline "Gracie" Dorothy Grace Van Dien).

Oxenberg and Van Dien are celebrity ambassadors for the non-profit organization Childhelp. [ [http://www.childhelp.org/about/celebrity-ambassadors Celebrity Ambassadors - ChildHelp.org] Retrieved 6 August 2008.]

References

External links

*
* [http://www.mynetworktv.com/wom_characters_catherine_oxenberg.html Catherine Oxenberg's "Watch Over Me" profile at MyNetworkTV.com]
* [http://www.catherineoxenberg.com The Official Homepage]