Introduction
Donna Dixon has had many careers during her lifetime, and she has been successful in all of them. What did the famous wife of Dan Aykroyd do before she appeared on the big screen? How did she and her husband meet?
Early life and Education
Donna Lynn Dixon was born on 20 July 1957, in Alexandria, Virginia USA. Her father was Earl Dixon, who owned several nightclubs, most notably Hillbilly Heaven located in Lorton, Virginia. When she was young, her family moved to Lorton because of her father’s job, and she went to the local Groveton High School.
She enrolled at George Washington University, located in Washington D.C., where she studied anthropology, but she quickly dropped out so she could focus on her modeling career.
Career
Dixon’s first career was as a model, and she worked for Wilhelmina Modeling Agency in New York. In 1976 she won the title of Miss Virginia USA, after which she competed in Miss USA in the same year. In 1977 she won another title, this time of Miss District of Columbia World, and then went on to compete in the 1977 competition for Miss World USA, in which she was the runner-up.
She started her acting career in the early 1980s, when she landed the role of Sonny Lumet in the sitcom “Bosom Buddies”, acting next to Tom Hanks. In 1981, she was seen in the TV movie “Margin for Murder”, as well as in two episodes of the TV series “The Love Boat”.
In 1983 she co-starred in the comedy film “Doctor Detroit”, next to Howard Hesseman and Dan Aykroyd. Her and Aykroyd went on to star in “Twilight Zone: The Movie”, although despite both of them being among the main cast, they never shared a scene. The next year she portrayed Sarah Wilder in the TV movie “No Man’s Land”, and later Nancy Cookie Miller in an episode of “Hawaiian Heat”.
She once again starred next to Aykroyd in “Spies Like Us”, and was a regular in the TV series “Berrenger’s”.
She was Lauren Sullivan in “Charmed Lives”, the comedy TV series about the lives of two room-mates that aired in 1987, and the same year was in the sitcom “Moonlighting”, playing Joan Teniwitch in the episode called “Blonde on Blonde”.
In 1988, she was once again in a film with Aykroyd, this time in the comedy called “The Couch Trip”. In 1989, she was in the film “Speed Zone”, as well as “It Had to Be You”, a comedy directed by Joseph Bologna and Renee Taylor. After this, she had a three-year-long break from acting, and came back in 1992 when she appeared in the TV movie “C. C. P. D.” and also in the film “Wayne’s World”.
In 1994, she portrayed Bonnie in the crime comedy about the sexual fantasy island called “Exit to Eden” and had a guest role in an episode of the famous sitcom “The Nanny”, starring Fran Drescher. That same year she was also seen in the biographical movie about former US president, “Nixon”, playing Maureen Dean, and in 1997 made a brief appearance in the TV series “Soul Man”.
Dixon’s last movie appearance was in 2014 when she portrayed Ms. Blair in the romantic thriller “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus”, about a doctor who became cursed by a mysterious ancient artifact.
Marriage to Dan Aykroyd
Dixon and Aykroyd met in 1982, during the filming of the movie “Doctor Detroit”.
They started dating almost immediately, and tied the knot just several months later, in 1983; the duo has been seen together in several movies. Aykroyd is famous for working on the late-night comedy show called “Saturday Night Live” from 1975 to 1979, for which he won an Emmy Award. He is also known for being a prominent figure in numerous movies, most notably “Ghostbusters” and its sequels.
The couple has three daughters, named Danielle, Stella Irene August and Belle Kingston. As of April 2020, they are still married and appearing together at several public events and movie premiers.
Dixon and Aykroyd don’t work together just on the big screen. They are highly involved in philanthropic activities, both directly and indirectly. Aykroyd helped establish the Blue Line Foundation, which is focused on redeveloping houses and property damaged in the floods that hit New Orleans in 2005, also helping to fix damaged houses in other parts of the US. In 2009, he narrated the series for the charity album “Dan Aykroyd’s Canada”, that focuses on his Canadian upbringing. At the same time, Dixon is advocating for causes such as wildlife extinction and climate change.
Donna Dixon
Posted by NOSTALGIA on Friday, July 21, 2017
She is a member of Explorers Club and Royal Canadian Geographic Society, as well as an international ambassador for the big Philip J. Currie Paleontological Museum, and the ambassador at the Royal Ontario Museum, also known as ROM.
Personal Life
Dixon was previously engaged to the lead singer of the rock group Kiss, Paul Stanley. She was the one who ended the relationship, after which Stanley wrote the famous song “I Still Love You”, that can be found on the group’s album “Creatures of the Night”.
Since she retired from physical acting, Dixon has been working as a voice-over actor and a producer.
One of her best friends is her fellow actress Fran Drescher, who had the role of a matchmaker for Dixon and her future husband.
Through her husband, Donna is the sister-in-law of writer Peter Aykroyd, and the daughter-in-law of actor P. H. Aykroyd. All three of her daughters are trying to make their names known in Hollywood, working as actresses.
Net Worth
Dixon had a long and successful career as an actress, and is still continuing to earn a big amount of money from her other business endeavors.
s of April 2020, her net worth is estimated at around $5 million, but is still a lot less than her husband, as Dan Aykroyd’s net worth is estimated at the rather larger amount of $180 million!
In 2007, Aykroyd and his partner company launched Crystal Head Vodka, a vodka distribution business that cost $600,000 to open. The high price was worth it, as his vodka – sold in crystal bottles shaped like a human skull – has in just a few years returned annual revenue of more than $80 million!
Physical characteristics
Dixon stands at a height of 5ft 9ins (1.75 m), weighs around 152lbs (67kgs), and her vital statistics are 35-24-25. Her eyes are bright blue and her hair is blond.
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