This week it's our honour to welcome an absolute icon of not just horror cinema, but of international film culture, full stop, Lady Barbara Steele!

After a moderately successful acting career in her native England, Barbara found her first taste of serious fame in Italy starring in director Mario Bava's landmark Gothic thriller BLACK SUNDAY and Ricardo Freda's eerie chiller THE HORRIBLE DR. HITCHCOCK before dancing for Fellini in his classic 1963 masterpiece 8 1/2. After a memorable turn in Roger Corman's 1961 Poe Cycle film THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, Barbara would continue to be the Queen of the "Hollywood on the Tiber" scene in Italy throughout the decade, starring in a tidal wave of sensual shockers like THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH, NIGHTMARE CASTLE, CASTLE OF BLOOD, AN ANGEL FOR SATAN, THE SHE BEAST and many, many more. Moving permanently to America in the 1970's, Barbara would then appear in future genre classics like David Cronenberg's gruesome SHIVERS and Joe Dante's campy Corman-produced PIRANHA before teaming up with DARK SHADOWS guru Dan Curtis and co-producing his acclaimed TV miniseries THE WINDS OF WAR and its sequel WAR AND REMEMBRANCE, which earned her an Emmy Award in 1989. And despite all these listed achievements, we've really only just scratched the surface of this incredible artist's life.