Cooks at Home: Audrey Landers

By Abby Weingarten / Photography By Chad Spencer | November 01, 2012

Between flights to Germany, New York, and Miami, Audrey Landers unwinds in her Osprey kitchen, whipping up holiday feasts for her mother, husband, and twin teenage sons.

“I’m all over the world on a regular basis, so coming back to normal life is the best part,” Landers says. “I’m a little bit of a ‘cookaholic.’ I think cooking is creative and relaxing, and I’ve always liked being at home and entertaining.”

Entertaining is Landers’ MO, both at home and onscreen. Best known for her roles as Afton Cooper on TV’s Dallas and as Val in A Chorus Line (the movie), Landers was a household name in the 1980s and 1990s. Now a bona fide Renaissance woman, she is an actress, singer, composer, producer, director, and fashion entrepreneur who travels internationally every six weeks.

Family is her anchor, and the Landers family—19-year-old Daniel and Adam (at the University of Miami and Duke University, respectively); Audrey’s mother, Ruth; and her husband, Donald Berkowitz—adore their intimate hours around the dinner table.

“Traditionally, our family has been the party house for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the Super Bowl,” Audrey Landers says. “Growing up, we always had tons of kids over and there was food for everyone. I learned from the best, my mother. Now she and I have to divvy up the holiday events because she’s still an amazing cook and hostess.”

Ruth Landers is also an amazing manager, having guided her daughter’s pursuits for decades. In true family fashion, Audrey Landers now oversees the career of her son Daniel. A singer-songwriter in his own right, Daniel performed in Europe on The X Factor and ascended to heartthrob status abroad.

Together, Audrey and Ruth Landers created the Landers STAR Collection—a line of affordable clothing and accessories that is often featured on QVC in the UK, USA, Italy, Canada, and Germany.

Audrey Landers is currently teaching a master class on the music and entertainment business at the University of Miami—a gig for which she travels once a month. She heads to New York to collaborate with her fashion design group, and does Dallas promotions (there has been a burgeoning Facebook campaign to bring Audrey Landers back to the reprised show, and she has confirmed she will return in January). Audrey and Daniel Landers are even recording an album together of songs Afton Cooper sang on the show.

“When I’m home, going to farmers’ markets and cooking vegetarian food is very therapeutic for me,” Audrey Landers says. “It brings me back to reality, and to what’s most important: my family.”

That, for Audrey Landers, will always be priority one.

audrey-landers.com