Sandra Peabody was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and began her acting career as a teenager in the educational film Misfit (1965),followed by a supporting role in the mystery film The Horse Killer (1966). She made her stage debut in the play "Enter Laughing" at the Hollywood Little Theater in 1966.
After graduating from Stranahan High School in 1966, Peabody moved to New York and studied under master acting teacher Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse and later earned a degree from Carnegie Mellon University. She appeared in several stage plays, including "The Odd Couple", "Stop the World - I Want to Get Off", and "Little Mary Sunshine" (all in 1969).
Peabody found success when Wes Craven cast her as protagonist Mari Collingwood in his directorial debut horror film The Last House on the Left (1972). Despite the film initially having a polarizing reception, it has received critical reevaluation years after release and is considered one of the most influential films of all time.
She later portrayed Anna Reed, a young woman involved in a cult, in the horror film Voices of Desire (1972) and Gwen in the New York shot horror film Massage Parlor Murders! (1973). Peabody achieved further recognition on stage when she starred alongside Barbara Eden in the critically acclaimed musical "Annie Get Your Gun" (1973-1974).
Throughout the early 1970s, Peabody appeared in commercials and guest starred in several television soap operas, including One Life to Live (1968),The Edge of Night (1956),and As the World Turns (1956). She later starred as Bird in the exploitation comedy road movie Teenage Hitchhikers (1974),which has been regarded as a cult film.
After retiring from acting, Peabody launched a successful career as a freelance producer and writer in Portland, creating family-oriented programming for local television. Her main focus was creating content for children, as content for children was rapidly declining at the time due to a small audience viewership and a lack of funding.
Peabody's first success was creating the 26-episode children's variety series Get Moving (1982). She would later earn two Emmy Awards, among several other awards, for producing the acclaimed educational series Popcorn (1985),which was an immediate success with audiences as it involved their creative input and featured a variety of celebrity guests.
In the 1990s, Peabody worked as an acting coach and talent agent, helping launch the acting careers of several people including Bret Harrison and Alicia Lagano. She is married to production sound mixer Tim Stubelek and they have one son, drummer Tyson Stubelek.
