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Brenda Venus

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Brenda Venus
File:Brenda Venus Swimsuit.jpg
Black and white portrait of Brenda Venus
Born
Biloxi, Mississippi, USA
Occupation(s)Author, actress, producer & director.

Brenda Venus is an actress, author, ballet dancer, director, and producer. In June 1976 Brenda Venus met the famed writer Henry Miller. He became her mentor and she his muse. Over 4,000 pages of letters were written by Henry Miller which were later collected into the book, "Dear, Dear Brenda" – The Love Letters of Henry Miller to Brenda Venus(ISBN 0-688-02816-0).[1] In addition, she is a best-selling[citation needed] author: "Secrets of Seduction for Men" (ISBN 9780452286429) and "Secrets of Seduction for Women" (ISBN 9780760790700). Her books have been translated into 37 languages[citation needed]. Publishers William Morrow and E.F. Dutton sent her on a worldwide publicity tour making various appearances on TV, radio and press interviews. For over 6 years, Venus wrote a column for Playboy and freelanced for Cosmopolitan, Details and Esquire.

Early career

Brenda Venus began her career as a beauty queen[citation needed], then a ballerina for American Ballet Theatre[citation needed], fashion and swimsuit model[citation needed], film actress and later a producer, director and editor of documentaries. Also, she is a photographer and cinematographer. She also had her own radio show on KROC in Salt Lake City, Utah[citation needed].

Photographs and paintings of Venus

George Hurrell included her photo in his last photo album of famous movie stars.[citation needed] and Pompeo Posar, photographed Venus for the July 1986 issue of Playboy Magazine.

Ken Marcus, a protégé of Ansel Adams, was Venus' sole photographer for over 10 years and published a book of black-and-white photos, titled Venus.[citation needed]

Artist Gary Dobry, a former apprentice to world renown artist Ed Paschke, exhibited a series of works inspired by Venus for a 2010 exhibition called Mentors (Life After Henry Miller and Ed Paschke) at the Zhou B Art Center/Art Matrix Gallery, Chicago[citation needed]. Selected works created by Dobry and Venus also exhibited at the "Inked: Tattoo Imagery in Contemporary Art" exhibition at the Jack Olson Gallery at Northern Illinois University (August 23 thru October 13, 2011) and Dobry's latest work with Venus will exhibit at the Packer Schopf Gallery in Chicago June 1 through July 7, 2012.

Film and TV

Brenda Venus appeared in the Clint Eastwood film, The Eiger Sanction and several other films. She also appeared as a host/narrator in, Love & Sex in LA

She appeared on the soap opera The Bold And The Beautiful. She also appears in a short documentary film, Dinner With Henry.

Relationship with Henry Miller

Venus met American novelist Henry Miller when she was in her twenties and became his muse.

In his book Joey, Miller wrote of Venus: "To love at the end of ones life is something special. Few women can inspire that sort of love. To wake up with the words of love on one's lips--what bliss! Just to say "Brenda" puts me in ecstasy."

Miller's long-time friend and confidant, fellow novelist and poet Lawrence Durrell wrote in the introduction to Miller's book Dear, Dear Brenda that: "The role of Brenda Venus will keep its interest and importance also as a memorial of his last great attachment--an Ariel to his Prospero... She enabled him to dominate his infirmities and to experience all the Joys of Paradise."

According to writer Ed Millis, Venus was a source of inspiration to the aging and ailing Miller: "Brenda was 20, Henry was 84. She was a beautiful Southern belle, "The Boticelli of Mississippi" -- he called her. Henry, the renegade intellectual, the writer, had taken millions of us to the sexy Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn. Now he was sick and slowly recuperating. He needed a lift in spirits... Brenda the Muse breathed life into her mortal charge and gave him reason to live. He wrote her over 4,000 letters and gave her focus and fine tuning!" [2]

Russian Play

On her birthday, November 10,[when?] Russia's prime minister Vladimir Putin requested that she visit Moscow as his guest[citation needed]. The invitation was to attend the opening performance of Venus, a play about her life[citation needed] by a famous Russian playwright [who?]. Members of the Bolshoi Ballet were cast along with Olympic Gold Medalist, Svetlana Khorkina, who played the title role.

References

  1. ^ Davidson, Cathy N. (1996-03-21). The Book of Love: Writers and Their Love Letters. Plume. p. 291. ISBN 978-0-452-27594-2. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  2. ^ The VENUS de MILLER" Vertigo Magazine

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