Dana Barron

Dana Barron
Barron at the 2012 New York Comic Con
Born	(1966-04-22) April 22, 1966 (age 50) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1980–present
Children	1

Dana Barron (born April 22, 1966) is an American actress who is best known for her role as the original Audrey Griswold in the 1983 film National Lampoon's Vacation which she reprised in 2003's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure for NBC television.

Barron was born in New York City, New York. Her mother, Joyce McCord, is a stage actress. Her father, Robert Weeks Barron, was a director of commercials and a Congregationalist church pastor; Robert founded The Weist-Barron School of Television, the first commercial and soap opera acting for television school in the world. Barron has a sister named Allison. She is a fifth generation entertainer. Her grandfather was an opera singer, and her mother moved from Alabama to become an actress.

Barron's sister, Allison, had been doing TV commercials at a young age, and Barron told her father that she wished to do the same. She began acting at age 10, doing TV commercials as well. By age 11, she was appearing with Christine Baranski in Hide and Seek on Broadway. Her first film was the horror film He Knows You're Alone, with Tom Hanks, which was also Hanks' first film.

In 1983, Barron starred in the Chevy Chase comedy National Lampoon's Vacation, originating the role of Audrey Griswold. The film became a classic, and Barron would reprise the role 20 years later in the NBC TV movie spinoff, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure.