Bridgette Andersen
Born	Marriah Bridgette Andersen July 11, 1975(1975-07-11) Inglewood, California, U.S.
Died	May 18, 1997 (aged 21) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1982–1996

Bridgette Andersen (July 11, 1975 – May 18, 1997) was an American child actress best known for her part in the title role of the 1982 comedy Savannah Smiles.

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Death 3 Filmography 4 Award nominations 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Early life and career

Born Marriah Bridget Andersen in Inglewood, California to Frank Glass and Teresa Andersen, Bridgette Andersen (as she was known professionally) was raised in Malibu, California, and from an early age, she showed exceptional intelligence. By age two, she decided she wanted to be an actress and eventually began a career as a child model before breaking into acting at age seven in the 1982 TV movie, Washington Mistress. Later that year, Andersen appeared in her most memorable role as the title character in Savannah Smiles, followed by roles in Family Ties, Remington Steele, and as a young Mae West in the TV biopic of the actress' life.

In 1983, Andersen appeared as Celia in the short lived sitcom Gun Shy, and was also nominated for a Young Artist Award for her role in Savannah Smiles. She followed up with a role in the horror film, Nightmares. She was nominated for a second time for a Young Artist Award for her role in Gun Shy the following year.

Throughout the mid-1980s, Andersen continued to appear in episodic television, TV movies and features films, including: A Summer to Remember in 1985, Hotel, Fever Pitch with Ryan O'Neal, The Golden Girls, and The Parent Trap II with Hayley Mills.

By 1987, Andersen's roles were infrequent with her only appearances being in an episode of CBS Summer Playhouse and an independent film entitled Too Much. One of Andersen's last roles was a small part in a Pepsi commercial that aired during Super Bowl XXX on January 28, 1996. Shortly before her death, she performed in the independent feature Locker 28. To date, the film remains unreleased.

[edit] Death

Andersen was reportedly not close to her family and had little contact with them. During her teen years, she struggled with an addiction to heroin, and at the time of her death, was attempting to stay clean while working at Erewhon Health Food Store in Los Angeles, California.^[1]

On May 18, 1997, Andersen died of an accidental overdose of alcohol and drugs. She was 21 years old. On May 25, 1997, funeral services were held at Malibu United Methodist Church and Andersen's ashes were scattered at Zuma Beach in Malibu, California.^[1]

[edit] Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1982	Savannah Smiles	Savannah
1983	Nightmares	Brooke Houston	Segment: "Night of the Rat"
1985	Fever Pitch	Amy
1987	Too Much	Susie
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Washington Mistress	Jenny	Television movie
	King's Crossing	Mimi Hadary	1 episode
	Mae West	Mae (Age 7)	Television movie
	Family Ties	Young Mallory	Episode: "A Christmas Story"
1983	Gun Shy	Celia	6 episodes
	Fantasy Island		1 episode
	Faerie Tale Theatre	Gretel	Episode: "Hansel and Gretel"
1984	Remington Steele	Angel Gallen	Episode: "Blood Is Thicker Than Steele"
	The Mississippi	Abagail Marshall	1 episode
	The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.		Television movie
1985	A Summer to Remember	Jill	Television movie
	Hotel	Lindsay Pomeroy	1 episode
1986	The Golden Girls	Charley	Episode: "The Truth Will Out"
	Between Two Women	Kate Petherton	Television movie
	The Parent Trap II	Mary Grand	Television movie
1987	CBS Summer Playhouse	Jamie	1 episode
1993	Beverly Hills, 90210	High School Newspaper Journalist	Episode: "Something in the Air"

[edit] Award nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Film or series
1983	Young Artist Award	Nominated	Best Young Motion Picture Actress	Savannah Smiles
1984			Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series	Gun Shy
1985			Best Young Actress - Guest in a Television Series	The Mississippi
1986			Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress in a Television Special or Mini-Series	A Summer to Remember

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Bridgette Andersen at the Internet Movie Database
• Bridgette Andersen at Allmovie
• Bridgette Andersen at TV.com
• Bridgette Andersen at Find a Grave

Persondata
NAME	Andersen, Bridgette
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Andersen, Marriah Bridgette
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actress
DATE OF BIRTH	July 11, 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH	Inglewood, California, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH	May 18, 1997
PLACE OF DEATH	Los Angeles, California, U.S.