Ronee Blakley performs on Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Review Ronee Blakley is 78 years old today. Although an accomplished singer, songwriter, composer, producer and director, Blakley is perhaps best known as an actress. Her most famous role was as the fictional country superstar, Barbara Jean, in Robert Altman's 1975 film, Nashville, for which she won a National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for an Academy Award.