Lezlie Deane (also credited as Lezlie Dean) is an American singer, musician, roller derby athlete, and actress whose career reads like three different people swapping jackets in the same hallway. She first landed on genre fans’ radar through late-’80s/early-’90s horror and thriller work—then pivoted into a ’90s techno/dance-pop chapter with Fem2Fem—and later became a serious presence in roller derby and independent music.
Early screen identity: horror and cult credits
Deane’s earliest public “brand” was horror-adjacent: sharp, energetic, and perfectly at home in the neon-lit moral panic of late-’80s VHS culture. She appeared in films like 976-EVIL, Girlfriend from Hell, and later Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, the kind of titles that either vanish into a rental-store fog or stick to you forever. For the fans who grew up on that era, Deane’s name tends to trigger the same response: oh—her.
Fem2Fem: the ’90s dance-pop left turn
In the 1990s, Deane was recruited by producers Peter Rafelson and Michael Lewis to join the dance-pop group Fem2Fem. The group toured Europe and North America, including as an opening act for Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson—a pairing that tells you a lot about the weird, anything-goes music ecosystem of the time.
Fem2Fem’s second album, Animus, produced charting singles including “Obsession” and “Where Did Love Go”, and the project is also remembered for its more provocative, publicity-forward image. After touring, Deane recorded early demos with musicians Josh Freese, Danny Lohner, and Robin Finck, collaborators she’d circle back toward in later creative work.
Reinvention: roller derby leadership
In 2007, Deane reappeared in a totally different arena: roller derby. She was named captain and coach of the Slaughterers, one of the teams under the Dallas Derby Devils, and coached them to three consecutive first-place seasons before leaving the league. That’s not a cameo hobby—that’s a second career built on authority, endurance, and bruises.
Music again: Scary Cherry and the Bang Bangs
Deane later formed Scary Cherry and the Bang Bangs, a band with a deliberately loud aesthetic—part glam, part punk—sometimes tagged by their UK following as “glitter punks.” The band toured extensively, placed songs via licensing, and released both an EP and a full-length album titled Girl. One track, “Don’t Wanna,” is credited with winning an Independent Music Award (fan-vote/Vox Populi category), though some listings note that claim needs stronger sourcing.
A darker footnote: Never Sleep Again revelations
In the documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010), Deane spoke about difficult personal experiences resurfacing during the filming of Freddy’s Dead, including childhood trauma memories and an on-set injury that required medical attention. It’s one of those moments where the “fun horror history” format collides with the real cost of surviving long enough to have a story.
Community work
Outside performance, she has been involved as a volunteer board member with Girls Rock Dallas, a nonprofit music camp, since its start in 2011—another thread in her pattern of building scenes, not just joining them.
Filmography highlights
-
976-EVIL — Suzie
-
Dynasty (TV) — Phoenix Chisolm
-
Freddy’s Nightmares (TV) — Sue Kaller
-
Girlfriend from Hell — Diane
-
Midnight Ride — Joan
-
Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare — Tracy
-
Almost Pregnant — Party Girl
-
To Protect and Serve — Harriet
-
Movie Madness
-
A Place to Be Loved (TV) — Jeanette Glynn
-
Plump Fiction — Jodi / The Gimp
-
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (documentary) — Self (and archival footage)
-
Devotion — Wendy
