Blakley was born in
Nampa, Idaho, one of four children born to Ronald Blakley, a civil engineer, and his wife Carol (née Brown), who became a gay rights activist in support of Blakley's brother, Stephen. In addition to Stephen, Blakley has a brother John and a sister Marthetta.
1970s Blakley released her self-titled debut album on
Elektra Records in 1972. The album featured Blakley's original songs, self-accompanied on piano. Blakley also made the musical arrangements. The song "Bluebird" featured a duet with
Linda Ronstadt. Blakley's songs were published by her own company, Sawtooth Music. Her second album,
Welcome—produced by
Jerry Wexler and recorded at
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama—was released on Warner Bros. in 1975. That same year, Blakley appeared in what may be her most widely known performance in
Nashville. Her character, Barbara Jean, looked similar to country star
Loretta Lynn, though Blakley stated that the character was based on
Lynn Anderson. Blakley performed her own songs in character, including "Tapedeck In His Tractor," "Dues" and "My Idaho Home." In her review for
The New Yorker, film critic
Pauline Kael wrote: This is Ronee Blakley's first movie, and she puts most movie hysteria to shame. She achieves her gifts so simply, I wasn't surprised when somebody sitting beside me started to cry. Perhaps, for the first time on the screen, one gets the sense of an artist being destroyed by her gifts. Blakley's performance in
Nashville was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress,
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture and for
Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture (Female),
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and the
Grammy Award for Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special, and won the
National Board of Review award for Best Supporting Actress. She was featured on the covers of
Newsweek,
American Cinematographer and
Interview magazines. She toured in
Bob Dylan's traveling
Rolling Thunder Revue, singing a set of solo original songs accompanying herself on piano. She also sang with Dylan and other headlining musicians on the tour, released on
The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue. She recorded backup vocals on
"Hurricane" on Dylan's album
Desire. Blakley has also recorded with
Leonard Cohen and
Hoyt Axton. Blakley starred in the 1977 film
She Came to the Valley. She also appeared in several TV movies including
Desperate Women,
Ladies in Waiting,
Oklahoma City Dolls and the
Ford 75th Anniversary Special presentation of
The Glass Menagerie. Her guest starring roles in television series include
Vega$,
The Love Boat,
Highway to Heaven,
Trapper John,
Hotel,
The Runaways,
Beyond Westworld and
Tales from the Darkside.
1980s Blakley starred in
The Baltimore Bullet in 1980. She appeared on Broadway in 1982's
Pump Boys and Dinettes and starred in
Rain for the
Indiana Repertory Theatre. Blakley played the role of Marge Thompson in the 1984 horror film
A Nightmare on Elm Street. She wrote, produced, directed and starred in her own feature music docudrama,
I Played It for You, in 1985. The movie debuted at the
Venice Film Festival and was screened at several other film festivals around the world. Sheila Benson of the
Los Angeles Times called it "passionate and brave, an absorbing work." FX Feeney of
LA Weekly called it "a valuable document." The film was released on DVD in 2008, bundled with the soundtrack on CD and a new spoken word poetry album titled
Freespeak.
Personal life and recent activity Throughout her career, Blakley has performed on behalf of several political and social causes, with an emphasis on civil rights and equal rights for women. Her 2009 album,
River Nile, was inspired by a trip she made to Egypt. In October 2010, she appeared on stage at New York's
Bitter End for the first time in 20 years. She wrote, produced and directed the 2012 film
Of One Blood, her first foray into films in over 20 years. Her daughter appeared with her in the film. She was featured in the pseudodocumentary
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (2019). ==Works==