Background and career
Ellen Foley (born June 5, 1951) is an American singer and actress who has appeared on Broadway and television, where she co-starred in the hit NBC sitcom Night Court during its second season. In music, she has released five solo albums, but she is best known for her collaborations with rock singer Meat Loaf, particularly the 14× Platinum selling 1977 album Bat Out of Hell.
Foley was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of John and Virginia B. Foley. She attended Webster University.
Foley gained public recognition through singing a duet with Meat Loaf on the hit single "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" from the 1977 album Bat Out of Hell. Foley's part was recorded individually and in one take with Meat Loaf present in the room so she could sing in character. Although Karla DeVito (who toured with Meat Loaf in support of the album) is featured in the music video, DeVito is lip synching to Foley's vocals. Foley's debut album Night Out was released in 1979; the album's single "What's a Matter Baby" reached No. 7 in the Dutch charts and No. 92 on the US charts. The single "We Belong to the Night" reached No.1 in the Netherlands. The album, which peaked at No. 152, was produced by Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson. Foley recorded a duet with Ian Hunter in 1980, "We Gotta Get Outta Here". Her creative relationship with Hunter led her to singing backing vocals on the Iron City Houserockers' 1980 album Have a Good Time but Get Out Alive!, produced by Hunter, Ronson, and The E Street Band's Steven Van Zandt. Foley also sings in the title cut of the 1979 Blue Öyster Cult album Mirrors, and on The Clash album Sandinista! (released in 1980) in the songs "Hitsville UK" and "Corner Soul" (as well as the unreleased track "Blonde Rock 'n' Roll"). In 1981, all four members of The Clash appeared on her album The Spirit of St. Louis, and Mick Jones and Joe Strummer co-wrote a number of songs for the album. Jones produced the album, which featured members of The Blockheads and peaked at No. 137 on the US charts. In 1982, she provided backing vocals on The Clash's song "Car Jamming" from the album Combat Rock. The Clash's hit song "Should I Stay or Should I Go", written and sung by Jones, was about the turbulent relationship he shared with Foley at the time. She released her third solo album Another Breath in 1983; it failed to chart. In 1984, she sang backing vocals on Joe Jackson's album Body & Soul and had a large role in the music video for Utopia's "Crybaby". Foley was one of four female vocalists to front the group Pandora's Box, formed by Jim Steinman in the late 1980s. Their album Original Sin, released in 1989, was the first to feature the song "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (vocals by Elaine Caswell); both Celine Dion and a duet between Meat Loaf and Marion Raven had separate chart successes with that song in some countries, years later.
Foley studied acting at HB Studio in New York City. She has appeared on Broadway in such shows as Me and My Girl and the revival of Hair, and off-Broadway in Beehive. Foley originated the role of The Witch in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego but was replaced by Bernadette Peters before the musical opened on Broadway. Foley eventually played the role on Broadway from August 1, 1989 until the show's closing on September 3, 1989. Her best known television acting role is that of Billie Young on Night Court for season two (1984–85). She was succeeded by Markie Post as Christine Sullivan, who had been Reinhold Weege's first choice for the public defender part. Post had been unavailable while under contract on the television series The Fall Guy on ABC. In mid-1985, it was publicly announced that Foley left Night Court "to pursue other acting and singing roles." However, Foley later said, “I was fired, man! Got bumped for Markie Post! Beats me, I don’t know why.” She also remarked, "You don’t know pain until you’ve been replaced in a role by Markie Post." She had roles in Miloš Forman's film adaptation of the stage musical Hair (1979), as well as in the movies Fatal Attraction (1987), Married to the Mob (1988) and Cocktail (1988). Foley was in the short-lived 1977 series 3 Girls 3, co-starring with Debbie Allen and Mimi Kennedy.
In the mid-2000s, she taught voice at the School of Rock (founded by Paul Green) in Manhattan.
In 1990, Foley married writer Doug Bernstein, co-author of the Off-Broadway revue Showing Off. They have two children, Henry and Timothy.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
