AN 80s actress has appeared to barely age despite stepping back from an iconic character nearly 40 years after she appeared on screen.
Actress Patricia McPherson shot to fame in 1982 opposite David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider, which has become a TV classic.
Playing the role of mechanic Bonnie Barstow, she was responsible for the upkeep of a hi-tech supercar: the Knight Industries Two Thousand – better known as KITT.
The series became an instant TV hit, with Patricia a firm favourite with viewers.
Only appearing in season one, viewers were left frustrated as the on-screen chemistry with David led many to believing her character would have a romance but it was not to be.
Former model Rebecca Holden took McPherson’s place, as new technician April Curtis but David was reportedly left livid with producers over the change.
Years later he revealed in an interview: “They let Patti go and I didn’t have enough guts to fight for her because I was still fighting for myself. In the second year I really wanted her back.”
Speaking in an interview at the time, Patricia explained: “I didn’t let myself get bitter. Sure, it was a smack in the face, but it was just business… I tried not to take it personally.”
She made guest appearances on various other TV shows, including Starman, MacGyver, Dynasty, Star Trek: The Next Generation Murder, She Wrote, and finally two episodes of Matlock in 1991.
However after 1991 she stepped away from the acting world.
Focusing on her passion for the environment, Patricia has instead devoted herself to campaigning to help combat climate change and save the planet.
After focusing on protecting the Ballona Wetlands, the former actress then moved into a science career as she became a behind-the-scenes researcher exploring corporate responsibility and the impact of organisations.
One of her notable cases was in Los Angeles when she and others discovered a property developer were allegedly exposing local residents to dangerous gas leaks.
Working alongside world-famous environmental group The Sierra Club, Patricia doesn’t shy away from holding people to account.
She told an audience in 2018: “While I try and stay very polite, I am very blunt about the agencies not having any of this in the DEIR [draft environmental impact report], and I’m very blunt with the water board. We want our water back for Ballona.”
