Judith Eva Barsi (June 6, 1978 â€" July 25, 1988) was an American
child actress of the 1980s. Barsi began her career in television,
making appearances in commercials and television series as well as in
the films Jaws: The Revenge, The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to
Heaven, providing the voices for animated characters in the latter
two. She and her mother, Maria, were killed in July 1988 as a result
of a double murderâ€"suicide perpetrated in their home by her father,
József Barsi.Barsi was born in Los Angeles County, California, on
June 6, 1978, the daughter of József Istvan Barsi and Maria Virovacz,
both immigrants to the U.S. who fled the Hungarian People's Republic
following the 1956 uprising. The two immigrated at different times and
met at a restaurant in California, where Maria worked as a server.
Both had been previously married.Maria Barsi began preparing her
daughter to become an actress when Judith was five. Barsi's first role
was in Fatal Vision, playing Kimberley MacDonald. She went on to
appear in more than seventy commercials and guest roles on television.
As well as her career in television, she appeared in several films,
including Jaws: The Revenge, and provided the voices of Ducky in The
Land Before Time, and Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven.By the time
she started fourth grade, Barsi was earning an estimated $100,000 a
year, which helped her family buy a three-bedroom house in West Hills,
Los Angeles. As she was short for her ageâ€"she stood 3 ft 8 in (1.12
m) at age 10â€"she began receiving hormone injections at UCLA to
encourage her growth. Her petiteness led casting directors to cast her
as children that were younger than her actual age. Her agent Ruth
Hansen was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying that when she was
ten, "she was still playing 7, 8."
child actress of the 1980s. Barsi began her career in television,
making appearances in commercials and television series as well as in
the films Jaws: The Revenge, The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to
Heaven, providing the voices for animated characters in the latter
two. She and her mother, Maria, were killed in July 1988 as a result
of a double murderâ€"suicide perpetrated in their home by her father,
József Barsi.Barsi was born in Los Angeles County, California, on
June 6, 1978, the daughter of József Istvan Barsi and Maria Virovacz,
both immigrants to the U.S. who fled the Hungarian People's Republic
following the 1956 uprising. The two immigrated at different times and
met at a restaurant in California, where Maria worked as a server.
Both had been previously married.Maria Barsi began preparing her
daughter to become an actress when Judith was five. Barsi's first role
was in Fatal Vision, playing Kimberley MacDonald. She went on to
appear in more than seventy commercials and guest roles on television.
As well as her career in television, she appeared in several films,
including Jaws: The Revenge, and provided the voices of Ducky in The
Land Before Time, and Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven.By the time
she started fourth grade, Barsi was earning an estimated $100,000 a
year, which helped her family buy a three-bedroom house in West Hills,
Los Angeles. As she was short for her ageâ€"she stood 3 ft 8 in (1.12
m) at age 10â€"she began receiving hormone injections at UCLA to
encourage her growth. Her petiteness led casting directors to cast her
as children that were younger than her actual age. Her agent Ruth
Hansen was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying that when she was
ten, "she was still playing 7, 8."
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