Catherine Oxenberg
Encyclopedia
Catherine Oxenberg is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actress known for her performance as Amanda Carrington
Amanda Carrington
Amanda Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty.The role was originated by Catherine Oxenberg early in the fifth season . Oxenberg left the series after the 1985-1986 season. The role was immediately recast with Karen Cellini, though no explanation was given as to why...

 on the 1980s American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 prime time soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...

. The daughter of HRH Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia
Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia
-Arms:HRH Princess Jelisaveta was granted heraldic arms in June 2008. Her motto translates into English as Service Is Love In Action.-Ancestry:-See also:*Politics of Serbia*Serbian presidential elections, 2004*Prince Paul of Yugoslavia*-References:...

, Oxenberg is a descendant of the Serbian Karađorđević dynasty.

Early life

Though born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, Oxenberg grew up in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. She is the eldest daughter of HRH Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia (b.1936) and her first husband Howard Oxenberg (1919–2010), a Jewish
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...

 dress
Dress
A dress is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment.Dress may also refer to:*Clothing in general*Costume, fancy dress...

 manufacturer and close friend of the Kennedy family
Kennedy family
In the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the...

. Princess Elizabeth is the only daughter of Prince Paul of Yugoslavia
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, also known as Paul Karađorđević , was Regent of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during the minority of King Peter II. Peter was the eldest son of his first cousin Alexander I...

 (who served as regent for his cousin's eldest son King Peter II of Yugoslavia
Peter II of Yugoslavia
Peter II, also known as Peter II Karađorđević , was the third and last King of Yugoslavia...

) and Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark
Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark
Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark was the granddaughter of King George I of Greece and wife of the last Prince Regent of Yugoslavia.-Early life:...

. Elizabeth is a first cousin of the current Duke of Kent
Duke of Kent
Duke of Kent is a title which has been created various times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of George V.-Pre-history:...

 and also a second cousin of Queen Sofía of Spain
Queen Sofía of Spain
Queen Sofía of Spain is the wife of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.-Early life and family:Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark was born in Psychiko, Athens, Greece on 2 November 1938, the eldest child of the King Paul of Greece and his wife, Queen Frederika , a former princess of Hanover...

 and Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...

, making Catherine a third cousin of Felipe, Prince of Asturias
Felipe, Prince of Asturias
Felipe, Prince of Asturias de Borbón y de Grecia; born 30 January 1968), is the third child and only son of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain....

 and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Catherine is also a great-great-great-granddaughter of Karađorđe, who started the first Serbian uprising against the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 in 1804.

Catherine Oxenberg's maternal grandmother Princess Olga was the daughter of Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia
Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia
Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia 17 January 1882 – 13 March 1957, sometimes known as Helen, Helena, Helene, Ellen, Yelena, Hélène, or Eleni, was a Russian grand duchess as the daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia and Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin...

 and Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark
Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark
Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark , of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the fourth child and third son of George I, King of the Hellenes, and of Queen Olga. He was known as "Greek Nicky" in the family to distinguish him from his cousin Czar Nicholas II of Russia...

, himself the son of another Romanov grand duchess, Queen Olga Konstantinovna of the Hellenes and her Danish-born husband King George of Greece
George I of Greece
George I was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the former king Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers...

, brother of Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom and Empress Maria Fyodorovna. Princess Olga was the sister of Princess Marina, who married the Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck, and younger brother of Edward VIII and George VI...

 (uncle of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

); and also a first cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....

 (husband of Queen Elizabeth II) through their respective fathers Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark
Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark
Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark , of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the fourth child and third son of George I, King of the Hellenes, and of Queen Olga. He was known as "Greek Nicky" in the family to distinguish him from his cousin Czar Nicholas II of Russia...

 and Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the seventh child and fourth son of King George I of Greece and Olga Constantinovna of Russia. He was a grandson of Christian IX of Denmark.He began military training at an early age, and was...

 who were brothers.

Oxenberg was educated at St. Paul's School, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

.

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 Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...

. In 1984 Oxenberg joined the hit ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 prime time soap opera Dynasty — then at its height of popularity — in the role of Amanda Carrington
Amanda Carrington
Amanda Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty.The role was originated by Catherine Oxenberg early in the fifth season . Oxenberg left the series after the 1985-1986 season. The role was immediately recast with Karen Cellini, though no explanation was given as to why...

, the second daughter of Blake Carrington
Blake Carrington
Blake Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty. The role was portrayed by John Forsythe from the first episode of the series in 1981 until the finale in 1989. Forsythe returned for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion...

 (John Forsythe
John Forsythe
John Forsythe was an American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and three genres: as single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the sitcom Bachelor Father ; as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the crime drama Charlie's...

) and Alexis Colby
Alexis Colby
Alexis Colby is a fictional character and the primary antagonist on the American TV series Dynasty....

 (Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...

). Oxenberg was the guest host on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 late-night sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...

on May 10, 1986. She left Dynasty in 1986 and the role was recast.

Oxenberg starred as Princess Elysa in the 1987 television film Roman Holiday
Roman Holiday (1987 film)
Roman Holiday is a 1987 television film, based on the 1953 film of the same name. The plot features Princess Elysa , who is touring Rome, and decides to get 'out and about' away from her normal life. She meets with an American reporter and his photographer, who show her the sights...

. She also appeared in The Lair of the White Worm
The Lair of the White Worm (film)
The Lair of the White Worm is a 1988 film based loosely on the novel by Bram Stoker of the same name and drawing upon the English myth of the Lambton Worm...

in 1988, and reprised the role of Diana, Princess of Wales in the TV film Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After in 1992. From 1993 to 1994 she starred in the short-lived series Acapulco H.E.A.T.
Acapulco H.E.A.T.
Acapulco H.E.A.T. is a 1993 syndicated television series that followed the Hemisphere Emergency Action Team [H.E.A.T.], a group of top-secret agents based in Acapulco, Mexico and recruited by C-5, a secret government coalition, to fight terrorism and international crime...

.

Oxenberg was portrayed by Rachael Taylor
Rachael Taylor
Rachael Taylor is an Australian actress and model. She made her leading role debut in the short-lived Australian program headLand. She then made the transition to Hollywood, appearing in the films Transformers, Shutter, and Splinterheads.-Personal life:Taylor was born in Launceston, Tasmania, the...

 in the 2005 telemovie Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure
Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure
Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure is a 2005 American television movie based on the creation and behind the scenes production of the 1980s prime time soap opera Dynasty...

, 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
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....

 mentioned in a 2000 commencement speech that Oxenberg is listed directly ahead of him in the Class of 1985 Harvard freshman facebook.

Oxenberg's first marriage was to the producer Robert Evans
Robert Evans (film producer)
Robert Evans is an American film producer, best known for his work on Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown.-Early life and acting career:...

, in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 on July 12, 1998, but the marriage was annulled nine days later.

Oxenberg met actor Casper Van Dien
Casper Van Dien
-Early life:Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane , a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a...

 during the filming of the 1999 TV movie The Collectors, and they worked together again in the 1999 Evangelical Christian
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

 thriller The Omega Code
The Omega Code
The Omega Code is a 1999 thriller film directed by Robert Marcarelli, starring Casper Van Dien as the protagonist, Dr. Gillen Lane, and Michael York as the antagonist. Its main plot presents an Evangelical Christian view about the millennium, and a plot by the Antichrist to take over the world...

. On May 8, 1999 they married in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

. In 2005 the couple appeared in their own reality series, I Married a Princess
I Married a Princess
I Married a Princess is a 2005 reality show on the Lifetime TV network that starred Catherine Oxenberg and her husband Casper Van Dien. The show's slogan is "under the tiara and behind the shades - a real life look at a fairy-tale family."...

, which aired on the Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...

 channel in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and on LIVINGtv in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. During the 2006-2007 TV season, Oxenberg and Van Dien co-starred in the American drama series Watch Over Me
Watch Over Me
Watch Over Me is an American Television series that debuted on December 6, 2006 on the television network MyNetworkTV. Twentieth Television produced 66 episodes to air weekdays. The limited-run serial is an adaptation of Argentine series Resistiré....

on MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...

.

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 (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
Childhelp
Childhelp is a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect and at-risk children through advocacy, prevention, treatment and community outreach. Founded in 1959 by Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, Childhelp is one of the largest non-profit child abuse...

.

Filmography

Film and television
Year Film Role Notes
1982 The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana Princess Diana
1984 Cover Up Michelle Lloyd
1986 The 12th Annual People's Choice Awards
1984-1986 The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...

Carrie Barton / Monika Blackbird
1984-1986 Dynasty
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...

Amanda Carrington
Amanda Carrington
Amanda Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty.The role was originated by Catherine Oxenberg early in the fifth season . Oxenberg left the series after the 1985-1986 season. The role was immediately recast with Karen Cellini, though no explanation was given as to why...

1987 Still Crazy Like a Fox
Still Crazy Like a Fox
Still Crazy Like a Fox was a 1987 American television movie starring Jack Warden and John Rubinstein as a father and son team of private detectives who become mixed up in a high-level murder case whilst on vacation in England. It is most noted for the appearance of Monty Python Graham Chapman in a...

Nancy
1987 Roman Holiday
Roman Holiday (1987 film)
Roman Holiday is a 1987 television film, based on the 1953 film of the same name. The plot features Princess Elysa , who is touring Rome, and decides to get 'out and about' away from her normal life. She meets with an American reporter and his photographer, who show her the sights...

Princess Elysa
1988 The Lair of the White Worm
The Lair of the White Worm (film)
The Lair of the White Worm is a 1988 film based loosely on the novel by Bram Stoker of the same name and drawing upon the English myth of the Lambton Worm...

Eve Trent
1989 Swimsuit
Swimsuit
A swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...

Jade Greene
1992 Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After Princess Diana
1993 Rubdown Jordy
1993-1994 Acapulco H.E.A.T.
Acapulco H.E.A.T.
Acapulco H.E.A.T. is a 1993 syndicated television series that followed the Hemisphere Emergency Action Team [H.E.A.T.], a group of top-secret agents based in Acapulco, Mexico and recruited by C-5, a secret government coalition, to fight terrorism and international crime...

Ashley Hunter-Coddington
1995 The Nanny
The Nanny
Nanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons...

Sydney Mercer
1999 The Omega Code
The Omega Code
The Omega Code is a 1999 thriller film directed by Robert Marcarelli, starring Casper Van Dien as the protagonist, Dr. Gillen Lane, and Michael York as the antagonist. Its main plot presents an Evangelical Christian view about the millennium, and a plot by the Antichrist to take over the world...

Cassandra Barashe
2000 Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...

Erika
2002 The Miracle of the Cards
The Miracle of the Cards
The Miracle of the Cards is 2002 American television drama film distributed by Cloud Ten Pictures. It starred Kirk Cameron, Karin Konoval, Catherine Oxenberg, Peter Wingfield and Richard Thomas...

Marion Shergold
2005 Out of Practice
Out of Practice
Out of Practice is an American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on CBS from September 19, 2005 to March 29, 2006. With producers Joe Keenan and Christopher Lloyd at the helm, the show was about a family of five doctors who had little in common and usually did not get along...

Claudia Penchant
2005 Premonition Kate Barnes
2006-2007 Watch Over Me
Watch Over Me
Watch Over Me is an American Television series that debuted on December 6, 2006 on the television network MyNetworkTV. Twentieth Television produced 66 episodes to air weekdays. The limited-run serial is an adaptation of Argentine series Resistiré....

Leandra Thames

External links

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