An 80s movie legend who played a cheerleader in the cult classic Weird Science before opening a Pilates studio was spotted out and about in Los Angeles last week. This actress, now 61, boasts a resume filled with some of the most iconic titles from the decade.
She had the honor of being killed off by Jason in the 1984 slasher Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. A year later, she appeared on big screens again in Weird Science, starring a future superstar, Robert Downey Jr. While she has continued acting since then, she also explored other passions outside of the spotlight, opening a gift shop and a Pilates studio in Los Angeles.
If you guessed Judie Aronson, you were correct! Aronson was spotted in Los Angeles last week, going for a leisurely walk with her furry friend. She trekked down the pavement in a long-sleeve tan top, black sweats, and pulled her hair back into a no-fuss ponytail.
Aronson's life has the kind of twists and turns that can be found on the big screen. Her first-ever film role was in the 1985 film Weird Science, a movie starring Ilan Mitchell-Smith and Anthony Michael Hall as geeks whose computer program brings their perfect woman (Kelly LeBrock) to life. She played Hilly, a cheerleader who catches the eye of the lead nerds.
Audiences would next catch Aronson on the big screen in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, where she played a teenager who is impaled by Jason while floating on a raft. From then on, her acting career continued to flourish with appearances in Growing Pains, Full House, Mr. Belvedere, and Beverly Hills, 90210.
But Aronson's focus shifted from being in front of the camera to a more entrepreneurial spirit. She opened the gift shop Handmade in Studio City in 1992, and within months of opening, the business had pulled in $115,000. 'I got the idea for Handmade from a somewhat similar craftsy sort of place in Northridge,' she told The Los Angeles Times the following year. 'It showed a lot of things I found interesting, but it was all pretty traditional. I wanted to encourage people who were creating unusual things and give them a great, big showcase.'
In 2009, she ended up opening another business—a Pilates studio. Aronson's passion for Pilates began after she needed to get into bikini shape for a potential TV show. 'I became addicted,' she told Easy Reader in 2009. 'Having worked out my whole life, I’ve always dreaded it. This was the first exercise I’ve done where I wasn’t looking at the clock.' She opened RockIt Body Pilates studio in 2009 but relinquished ownership in 2019.
Nowadays, she stays connected with fans online and in person. Earlier this month, the star appeared at the Columbus Horror Con in Columbus, Ohio, where she continued to embrace her gory Friday the 13th legacy. 'I'll be doing my Friday the 13th infamous raft kill photo op!' she said in a video promoting the appearance. '[We] hand you the mask, we hand you the machete, and it's a load of fun!'
