With zombies, glowing eyes and that iconic dance routine, Michael Jackson’s Thriller is a Halloween classic.
Premiering on MTV on December 2, 1983, the song’s horror movie-inspired music video was a monster hit. Directed by John Landis—best known for American Werewolf in London (1981) and Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)—the 14-minute video cost $500,000 to shoot, making it the most expensive music video ever produced at the time.
Almost 40 years since the video’s release, Ola Ray is still recognized by fans. A model and aspiring actress when she was cast as Jackson’s girlfriend, Thriller cemented small-town girl Ray in pop culture history.
Now 62 years old, Ray told Newsweek what it was really like working with the King of Pop, from daily pranks to their behind-the-scenes romance.
How Ray Became the ‘Girl From the Thriller Video’
In 1983, a then-23-year-old Ray was sent by her agent to meet Landis, unaware that she was about to audition for a Michael Jackson music video. When she arrived at his office, the director sat her down and cryptically began to explain what the project would entail.
“[He said] that he needed a girl to play two different parts,” Ray recalled.
“One would be a modern-day girl, the other would be a girl based in the 1950s, but we would have the same boyfriend.
“We would be sitting in a theater, watching ourselves on the big screen. Then once my boyfriend on the screen turned into a werewolf, it would make the modern-day girl afraid and want to leave the theater.”
Fans of Jackson will know this scene well, but it was only when the director began to play the track that everything fell into place for Ray.
“I just got so excited and I just looked at him and said ‘Oh my God,” she said.
A huge Jackson fan, Ray told Landis that she was the best girl for the job. He agreed, and after running his decision by the singer, Ray was cast in the role.
A former Playboy centerfold, Ray was concerned that Jackson—a devout Jehovah’s Witness—would want someone else for the part. However, Landis assured her it wasn’t a problem.
“I think John had seen my issue and that’s how he chose me,” she said laughing. “He had already seen me in Playboy and that’s why he decided to call me for the interview.”
Working With the ‘Funniest Person Ever’
Describing him as a joker, Ray said 25-year-old Jackson was always playing pranks on set and trying to make her laugh.
“I had so much fun with Michael,” she said. “He was like, the funniest person ever.”
One such incident involved a bizarre but hilarious confrontation with the set make-up artist.
“On set I would sit outside my trailer to retouch my make-up, and Michael would come and sit right next to me, and he would stare at me at the whole time,” she said.
“One day he just said to me ‘Ola can you help with something,’ and I said ‘sure Michael. He said ‘well, I have this shine on my nose, what do you think I should do?’ and I reached into my purse and got my little powder puff and I put a little powder on his nose.”
Jackson was amazed and dragged Ray to the make-up artist trailer.
“[Jackson] walked in and said, ‘guess what, Ola helped me get the shine off my nose,” she said.
“The make-up artist turned around and looked at me and said ‘Girl, don’t you know how many times Michael’s had a nose job? There is no way we’re getting the shine off his nose.”
While Ray stared at the make-up artist with her “eyes wide,” Jackson just burst into laughter.
“He always kept me laughing,” she said.
A Secret Admirer
It turned out, Jackson wanted to do more than make Ray giggle, and it wasn’t long before the pair struck up a casual on-set romance. The secret affair primarily took place in Jackson’s trailer, where the pair would hang out during breaks.
Unfortunately, their relationship was short-lived. An unnamed “friend” of Jackson’s also had his eye on Ray, forcing the musician to call things off.
“Michael had made this secret arrangement, a promise to someone, and that was why we couldn’t continue our relationship,” she said.
Ray refuses to reveal the mystery man’s identity, other than it was someone working with them on Thriller.
The last time Ray saw Jackson was later that year. While recording at Westlake Studios, she bumped into Jackson, who was working on his Bad album.
Detailing their final meeting, Ray said: “I went over to say hello to him, and when I walked in, I said ‘I know who this secret admirer of mine is.’ Michael just looked at me and said ‘Ola I’m so sorry,’ and I said ‘no it’s ok.'”
Jackson invited Ray to join them for lunch, but she declined, choosing to go back to recording instead.
“I wished I had stayed and had lunch with him, because that was the last time that I saw him,” she said.
Before and After Thriller
After their brief relationship, Ray and Jackson stayed on good terms, until legal drama over royalties created a rift between the pair. Ray was paid an initial $2,500 for her part in the video but didn’t receive any royalties for two years after the release.
“We shot the video in 1983 and my first payment didn’t come until 1985,” she said. “After that, it came like every other year or something and it was nothing compared to the percentage I was owed.”
Ray estimates she is owed around $4.2 million but has only received $200,000 for her work on the film. Ray sued Jackson in 2009, two months before the singer died from an overdose of propofol. In 2012, his estate awarded Ray $75,000 in back payments, $20,000 of which was used to pay her legal team.
Ray said she has since forgiven Jackson and Landis, but the situation has tainted what was once a positive experience for Ray.
“It wasn’t at all what Michael had originally wrote in the contract,” she said. “I was just really, really sad how they treated me.”
Thriller 40 and Ola Ray Today
Despite the legal troubles, Ray is still grateful to have been a part of music history. Nearly four decades later, she’s still recognized by music fans for her role.
“I’m just very honored,” she said. “Working with Michael and being with him was definitely worth it.
“But what happened afterwards…That’s a different story.”
Ray has since written a book on her experiences in the entertainment industry. The Thrill of It All was released in July and gave Ray a chance to satisfy fans desperate to know more about her life and time with Jackson.
“I talk about what I had to go through and how I survived it,” she said.
The biography details Ray’s battles with addiction, living through domestic violence, her 1992 arrest, the #MeToo movement, and more.
“I talk about what happened with all of the producers and directors who wanted to have sex with me to give me a part in their movie,” she said.
“If I can help other aspiring actors out there, that would just really make me happy.”
