BARBARA Feldon shares the same intrepid spirit as her most famous character, Agent 99 from Get Smart.
 
At the age of 82, the actress and writer will make the long journey from her native New York to Brisbane for this month's Supanova Pop Culture Expo. 

"I've always wanted to come and this is the first opportunity that I've been able to accept," Feldon told APN.

"It's going to be a huge adventure. I know people who've been there and people who live there, and I understand Australians are so lovely and that the country is so beautiful.

"I'm going to Adelaide and Brisbane and then I'm going to New Zealand for nine days to tour the South Island."

The visit will be a rare fan-convention appearance for Feldon, who largely gave up acting after the 1995 revival of Get Smart.

"For many years, I didn't do them at all," she said.

"I got talked into the first one and it was a rather sweet experience. From then on, I've been a little more amenable to it.

"It's just so sweet to meet the people who were fans of the show.

"They like having a personal chance to talk to me."

Feldon now concentrates her efforts on writing and poetry reading.

She published her book Living Alone and Loving It in 2003.

"The book is a collection of essays on living alone, and how I learned not to only cope with it but relish it," she said.  

It helps that Feldon lives in the bustling metropolis of New York City.

One of her secrets to living alone is going out in the city every night.

"I'm out every evening," she said.

"I go out to dinner or the theatre or to hear music.

"I honestly don't watch network television at all anymore. The TV that I watch is usually BBC specials like Downton Abbey.

"I'm addicted to that, and right now I'm enjoying the show Indian Summers."

Feldon is also working on two memoirs. "One of the memoirs is about my very unusual marriage (to Lucien Verdoux-Feldon).

"It's very short and I'm thinking about doing it as an audio book.

"I'm also writing a memoir about growing up in Pittsburgh, called Pittsburgh in My Heart."

The Supanova Pop Culture Expo plays the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from November 27-29.