Adrienne Jo Barbeau stole the show on Maude as the divorced single mother Carol Traynor. While we greatly enjoyed following along on her pursuit of love, with some family fights added to the mix, really it’s no surprise she thrived as an independent woman, surely inspired by her mother’s strong character.
When she wasn’t going head-to-head with Maude or defining early ’80s horror romps, the leading lady was building her own cosy home. Read on to find out more about the actress’ domestic life including two husbands and three sons.
© Getty ImagesAdrienne and John Carpenter were married for five years
Married life
Off screen, Adrienne was more lucky in love than her Maude counterpart. In 1979, she married director and composer John Carpenter, known for iconic films like The Thing (1982) and Halloween (1978). The couple welcomed one child during their marriage before splitting in 1984.
In 1992, Adrienne tied the knot for the second time, wedding playwright Billy Van Zandt. They welcomed twin sons together before divorcing in 2018 after 26 years of marriage.
© WireImage via Getty ImagesCody Carpenter is a successful composer like his father
John “Cody” Carpenter
John Carpenter, known as Cody, is the only child of Adrienne and composer John Carpenter, born on 7 May 1984. It seems a penchant for horror, showbiz and music run in his blood as the musician has composed scores for Halloween‘s reboot trilogy between 2018-2022.
His first project set this reputation for the spookier side of film with two episode composer credits on Masters of Horror. Outside of his professional work, Cody keeps details of his private life away from the public eye.
© FilmMagic via Getty ImagesWalker occasionally shares snapshots of time spent with his star mother
Walker Steven Van Zandt
On 17 March, 1997 then 51-year-old Adrienne welcomed identical twins Walker and William. Walker is involved with clothing brand “Mine Until Mourning” and regularly shares updates of his life on his Instagram, as well as occasional snapshots of him and his famous mother.
In 2023, Walker posted a series of photos celebrating a December holiday, captioned “Got to spend some well needed time with my familia (minus pops) and my lads” and featuring Adrienne with a splatter of whipped cream on her nose.
© WireImage via Getty ImagesWilliam is the twin brother of Walker Van Zandt
William Dalton Van Zandt
William is the twin brother of Walker and the son of Billy Van Zandt. Like half-brother Cody, he has found success in the music industry and a playlist linked to his Instagram listing all of his authored tracks boasts almost 200 entries.
He is currently engaged to model Asalia Yusupova who has worked for publications like Cosmopolitan and Elle. She posted a video of the proposal, captioning the moment in clear excitement, saying: “I feel so lucky to be loved like this by everybody involved and especially my NEW FIANCÉ”. William commented on the post, simply saying, “Best day of my life”.
© Getty ImagesAdrienne is still working as an author and has released several books
Where is she now?
Adrienne certainly hasn’t stopped working, 50 years on from the decade that saw her starring in Maude. Several of her more recent projects have had the actress returning to the horror genre, including the TV adaption of Creepshow (2019), The Pitch-Fork (2025) and Oddities (2026).
She has also written several books, including the Vampyres of Hollywood trilogy (the first of which was co-written with Michael Scott), and her memoir There Are Worse Things I Could Do.
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