Actresses - H
List activity
443 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
35 people
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born in Salisbury, Maryland, USA, following high school Linda studied for two years at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, before moving on to acting studies in New York. In New York she attended acting workshops given by Lee Strasberg. Her first parts were small parts in TV series, with her biggest break coming with her role in The Terminator (1984). Most known to public at large from her part in the TV series Beauty and the Beast (1987) (before Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), at least).- Mildred Harris was born on 29 November 1901 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA. She was an actress, known for The Doctor and the Woman (1918), For Husbands Only (1918) and The Price of a Good Time (1917). She was married to William Peter Fleckenstein, Everett Terrence McGovern and Charles Chaplin. She died on 20 July 1944 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Born and raised in Montreal, Emily Hampshire has made an indelible mark on the Canadian film and television industry in a relatively short period of time. Her work has been recognized by the Canadian Academy of Cinema and Television with 3 Genie Award Nominations, a Gemini Award for her work on the small screen and was chosen by her peers in the Canadian Actors Guild as a nominee for 'Outstanding Female Performance' at the ACTRA Awards.
At the 2012 Cannes International Film Festival, Emily received the Birks Canadian Diamond Award during the Canadian Talent Tribute presented by Telefilm Canada for her career and work in David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis (2012) in which she appeared, opposite Robert Pattinson in an unusual "huis clos", playing Jane Melman.
Emily has been very busy in 2012 and 2013. She was praised for her 'winning performance' in An Awkward Sexual Adventure (2012) by John Anderson from Variety after the TIFF'12 movie premiere. She starred in the futuristic-zombie movie The Returned (2013) by Manuel Carballo, wrapped That Burning Feeling (2013) starring John Cho and stars All the Wrong Reasons (2013) in alongside Kevin Zegers and Cory Monteith. She also has a recurring role as a key supporting cast member in the wildly successful series Schitt's Creek (2015): motel front desk clerk Stevie Budd. Schitt's Creek is entering its 5th season in 2019.- Eve Harlow was born on 20 June 1989 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for The 100 (2014), Next (2020) and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013).
- Born in Berlin, Germany. After her role in Metropolis (1927) she made a string of movies in which she almost always had the starring role, easily making the transition to sound films. Her last film was An Ideal Spouse (1935) which was released in 1935. She died on June 11th 1996 of heart failure in Ascona, Switzerland.
- Marilyn Harris was a child actress from San Fernando, California. She was active from the early 1930s to the early 1940s, retiring from the profession at age 19. She is primarily remembered for playing the tragic character of Little Maria in the classic horror film "Frankenstein" (1931). Her character briefly befriends Frankenstein's monster (played by Boris Karloff), being the only person to treat him with kindness. The monster soon misinterprets the rules of a children's game, throwing Maria into the waters of a lake and accidentally causing her death by drowning.
In 1924, Harris was born in San Fernando, California. Soon after her birth, she was placed in an orphanage located in Los Angeles. When she was only a month-old, the young girl was adopted by the Harris family. Her adoptive mother was a failed actress, and hoped that her daughter would get a chance at stardom. In later interviews, Harris recalled that her "stage mother" was physically and emotionally abusive.
As an infant, Harris reportedly appeared as an extra in a film featuring the dog actor Rin Tin Tin. By 1930, she started regularly appearing in films. She had a bit part in the western "The Big Trail" (1930), which featured a caravan of settlers in an attempt to cross the Oregon Trail. "Frankenstein" (1931) was her first credited role, and the first where she had speaking lines. Her scenes are considered a highlight of the film.
In her subsequent films, Harris was often an uncredited extra. Her next credited film appearance was in the drama film "A Wicked Woman" (1934). She played the character of Rosanne as a child, while Jean Parker played the older version of the character. In the war film "The Road Back" (1937), Harris played Maria, the sister of Ernst (one of the film's main characters). The film focused on German veterans of World War I, who had trouble adjusting to civilian life.
After a hiatus of her film career from 1937 to 1943, Harris resumed working in films. She was again reduced to working as an extra. To supplement her income, worked as a cashier at the theater "Hollywood Palladium". She started dating the bouncer Wally Watkins, and they were married in 1944. She decided to retire from acting, and spend the subsequent decades as a housewife.
In 1981, Harris was widowed when Wally Watkins died. She then married her second husband, Carl. In 1988, Harris was widowed again. She never remarried. In the 1990s, Harris appeared in a number of interviews about her film career. By that time, she was struggling with cancer. She died in December 1999, at the age of 75. She was the last surviving member cast member of "Frankenstein".
While Harris is long gone, she is fondly remembered by horror fans for her supporting role in one the of the best horror films of Universal Pictures. While she never achieved the stardom which her mother wanted for her, she has had enduring fame. Enough for her to be the subject of biographical articles and book chapters, published long after her heyday. - Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Megan was born in northern California, but her time there was brief. Her family ventured to several states during her youth, including: Nevada, Maryland, Arizona, and Colorado. The youngest of three kids, her flare for drama surfaced by age three when she told her parents she wanted to be an actress and refused to appear in public without her pink tutu.
Growing up she was fascinated and inspired by classic films and their actors, especially MGM musicals. She was probably the only twelve year old who scouted the TV Guide every Sunday to see which movies from AMC she wanted to record and delight in throughout the week. She even asked for TCM for Christmas because she felt that they had a better choice of Judy Garland, Betty Grable, and Doris Day films. These movies motivated her to get serious about tap dancing and singing, and most of her after school hours were dedicated to lessons and practicing. Developing her talents turned her into a bonafide "Theatre Geek," and she graced her high school stage with pride and excitement!
After high-school she left her family in Colorado and moved to Southern California to pursue her life-long love of acting. She attended University of CA, Irvine where she studied acting and musical theatre. It was here that she began doing improv and sketch comedy. Within 3 years she graduated and headed up to LA to start a TV/Film career.
Once in LA, she began to perform at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB), mainly in there musical shows, specifically Matt Besser's show "The Freak Dance." "Freak Dance" has since become an indie feature film. She also wrote/produced her own web series "Hollywood Taffy." Once she became more seasoned she began appearing on TV in several Guest Starring roles. She is still performing at UCB and living the dream in LA.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Elegant, quintessentially British Valerie Hobson was the daughter of a British army officer. She studied dancing at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and appeared onstage for the first time at age 16, but she contracted a case of scarlet fever and decided to give up dancing for acting. She journeyed to Hollywood, but became disillusioned with the studio system and returned to Britain, where she was often cast in aristocratic roles.
She married producer Anthony Havelock-Allan and subsequently appeared in many of his films. They divorced in 1952. She then married politician -- and future notorious sex-and-espionage-scandal figure -- John Profumo and gave up her acting career. She stood strongly by Profumo during that distasteful period. In her later years she was devoted to charity work. She died in 1998, aged 81.- Hollywood leading lady in B-movies, and supporting actress in big budget films. Although remembered for her portrayal of "Mme. Zola" in The Life of Emile Zola (1937), she is most memorable for her chilling-yet-beauteous performance as Dracula's Daughter (1936). She had another memorable role in director Tod Browning's Miracles for Sale (1939).
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Her father was a butcher. In 1913 she met and married matinée idol DeWolf Hopper Sr. and in 1915 they moved to Hollywood, where both began active film careers. He became a star with Triangle Company, she began in vamp parts and turned to supporting roles. After her divorce she appeared in dozens of films, becoming known as "Queen of the Quickies". In 1936 she started a gossipy radio show and two years later commenced a 28-year stint as a newspaper gossip columnist, rival of Louella Parsons. In her last films she mostly played herself, a tribute to her influence in Hollywood. Her son became famous as investigator Paul Drake in the Perry Mason (1957) series.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut to a suffragist, Katharine Martha (Houghton), and a doctor, Thomas Norval Hepburn, who both always encouraged her to speak her mind, develop it fully, and exercise her body to its full potential. An athletic tomboy as a child, she was very close to her brother Tom; at 14 she was devastated to find him dead, the apparent result of accidentally hanging himself while practicing a hanging trick their father had taught them. For many years afterward, she used his November 8 birth date as her own. She became shy around girls her age and was largely schooled at home. She did attend Bryn Mawr College, where she decided to become an actress, appearing in many of their productions.
After graduating, she began getting small roles in plays on Broadway and elsewhere. She always attracted attention, especially for her role in "Art and Mrs. Bottle" (1931). She finally broke into stardom when she took the starring role of the Amazon princess Antiope in "A Warrior's Husband" (1932). The inevitable film offers followed; after making a few screen tests, she was cast in A Bill of Divorcement (1932), opposite John Barrymore. The film was a hit, and after agreeing to her salary demands, RKO signed her to a contract. She made five films between 1932 and 1934. For her third, Morning Glory (1933), she won her first Academy Award. Her fourth, Little Women (1933), was the most successful picture of its day.
But stories were beginning to leak out, of her haughty behavior off- screen and her refusal to play the Hollywood Game, always wearing slacks and no makeup, never posing for pictures or giving interviews. Audiences were shocked at her unconventional behavior instead of applauding it, and so when she returned to Broadway in 1934 to star in "The Lake", the critics panned her, and the audiences, who at first bought up tickets, soon deserted her. When she returned to Hollywood, things didn't get much better. From 1935-1938, she had only two hits: Alice Adams (1935), which brought her her second Oscar nomination, and Stage Door (1937); the many flops included Break of Hearts (1935), Sylvia Scarlett (1935), Mary of Scotland (1936), Quality Street (1937), and the now-classic Bringing Up Baby (1938).
With so many flops, she came to be labeled "box-office poison". She decided to go back to Broadway to star in "The Philadelphia Story" (1938) and was rewarded with a smash. She quickly bought the film rights and so was able to negotiate her way back to Hollywood on her own terms, including her choice of director and co-stars. The Philadelphia Story (1940) was a box-office hit, and Hepburn, who won her third Oscar nomination for the film, was bankable again. For her next film, Woman of the Year (1942), she was paired with Spencer Tracy, and the chemistry between them lasted for eight more films, spanning the course of 25 years, and a romance that lasted that long off-screen. (She received her fourth Oscar nomination for the film.) Their films included the very successful Adam's Rib (1949), Pat and Mike (1952), and Desk Set (1957).
With The African Queen (1951), Hepburn moved into middle-aged spinster roles, receiving her fifth Oscar nomination for the film. She played more of these types of roles throughout the 1950s, and won more Oscar nominations for many of them, including her roles in Summertime (1955), The Rainmaker (1956), and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). Her film roles became fewer and farther between in the 1960s, as she devoted her time to the ailing Tracy. For one of her film appearances in this decade, in Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962), she received her ninth Oscar nomination. After a five-year absence from films, she then made Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), her last film with Tracy and the last film Tracy ever made; he died just weeks after finishing it. It garnered Hepburn her tenth Oscar nomination and her second win. The next year, she did The Lion in Winter (1968), which brought her her eleventh Oscar nomination and third win.
In the 1970s, she turned to making made-for-TV films, with The Glass Menagerie (1973), Love Among the Ruins (1975), and The Corn Is Green (1979). She still continued to make an occasional appearance in feature films, such as Rooster Cogburn (1975) with John Wayne and On Golden Pond (1981) with Henry Fonda. This last brought her her twelfth Oscar nomination and fourth win - the latter still the record.
She made more TV-films in the 1980s and wrote her autobiography, 'Me', in 1991. Her last feature film was Love Affair (1994), with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, and her last TV- film was One Christmas (1994). With her health declining, she retired from public life in the mid-1990s. She died at 96 at her home in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.- A graduate of the University of Michigan School of Drama, Ruth Hussey's first show-business job was as a fashion commentator on a local radio station. She journeyed to New York City, where she was signed as a model by the world-famous Powers agency. She obtained some stage roles with touring companies and was noticed by MGM, which signed her and with whom she made her film debut in 1937. She quickly became a leading lady in MGM's "B" unit, usually playing sophisticated, worldly roles. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her turn as a cynical photographer in The Philadelphia Story (1940). She soon focused her main energies on the stage, however, and returned to the screen only occasionally.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Elizabeth is known for her role as Jenny in Netflix's ensemble comedy series Disjointed alongside Kathy Bates (Ruth). and Joy in Netflix's comedy Merry Happy Whatever with Dennis Quaid and Ashley Tisdale. Guest starring roles include ABC's Grey's Anatomy, CBS's All Rise, ABC's Castle, Fox's Bones, CBS' NCIS and CBS' 2 Broke Girls and a recurring arc on Freeform's Melissa & Joey and more. Starring roles in feature films include Lovesick opposite Ali Larter and Matt LeBlanc and in the spoof parody 50 Shades of Black opposite Marlon Wayans- Actress
- Soundtrack
Her father, Donald Cole, was a consulting engineer, and died in 1926 when Kim was only three years old. Her mother, Grace Lind, once performed as a concert pianist. She had one brother who was eight years older than she, and she was educated at Miami Beach High.
According to an in-depth article on Kim Hunter by Joseph Collura in the October 2009 issue of "Classic Images", Kim was quiet and painfully shy as a child and overcame it through the guidance of a local dramatics teacher, a Mrs. Carmine. Included were diction, voice and posture lessons.
She studied at the Actors Studio and her first professional appearance was as "Penny" in "Penny Wise" in Miami in November 1939. Then, she joined a repertory group called "Theatre of Fifteen", but it disbanded in 1942 when WWII took away most of its male members.
She made her Broadway debut performance as "Stella" in "A Streetcar Named Desire" at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York, in December 1947 that was the 1947-1948 season's success and for which she won the Critics Circle and Donaldson awards.
A one-time student of the Pasadena Playhouse, she was appearing in the 1942 production of "Arsenic and Old Lace" when she was discovered by an RKO talent hunter who signed her to a seven-year contract for David O. Selznick's company. Selznick suggested she change her first name to "Kim" and a RKO secretary suggested the last name of "Hunter". A few years later, Irene Mayer Selznick, David's ex-wife by then, recommended Kim for her reprise role of "Stella" in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), for which she won an Oscar.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Barbara Hale was born on April 18, 1922 in DeKalb, Illinois, to Wilma (née Colvin) and Luther Ezra Hale, a landscape gardener. She had one sister, Juanita. As a young girl, she intended to major in art and drawing but to work her way through The Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, she began her professional career as a model for a comic strip called "Ramblin' Bill."
Hale is best remembered as Della Street, long-time secretary to attorney Perry Mason on the TV series Perry Mason (1957) from 1957 to 1966 and again in over 25 Perry Mason TV movies from 1985 to 1995. She married actor Bill Williams in 1946. He was best remembered for his portrayal of Kit Carson in The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951) from 1951 to 1955. The couple had three children - two daughters: Jody (born in 1947), Juanita (born in 1953), and, in 1951, a son, William Katt (the spitting image of his father), and actor in his own right, probably best known as the titular character's ill-fated prom date in the film Carrie (1976) and, later, as Ralph Hinkley, the klutzy superhero on the quirky 1980s adventure series The Greatest American Hero (1981) (from 1981 to 1986).- Mary Halsey came from a prominent Milwaukee family. Her father was Jay S. Halsey, Western representative of the Ply metal company and her mother Zoe Halsey (1888-1965) was working as a interior decorator. The Halsey family went to California in the early twenties. Her parents divorced in 1924. Mary lived with her mother, brother William Henry Halsey and sister Betty in Beverly Hills. William Henry, her brother, died young. In the late twenties, Mary and her older sister Betty began working in movies. An uncle, Horace Halsey, worked as a set designer at one of the studios. In 1929, Mary Halsey was involved in a car accident when a man stepped from behind a parked car and walked in front of her car. The man, a tailor from Los Angeles, was struck and injured fatally by Halsey's car. Mary was not arrested and the coroner's jury held that she was not to blame for the man's death. She married several times; her husbands included Merrill Pye, the Hollywood art-director. She divorced Pye in 1940. She had one son, Jim, with Pye. She married Navy-officer Milton Hicks in 1944. Mary Halsey was also a Red Cross field worker and a member of the women's ambulance and defense corps. In WW 2, she was part of a RKO group who entertained the troops. Her sister Betty (1910-1996) married Maurice Geraghty, brother of movie-actress Carmelita Geraghty in 1932.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mary Beth Hughes' parents separated while she was still a baby. She was brought up by a grandmother whose dearest wish was to make her an actress. As a result, she started her career at an early age while still a high school student. She starred in the stage version of "Alice in Wonderland" then had parts in "Daddy Long Legs" and "A Midsummer's Night Dream" with the Clifford Brooks company. She graduated from a high school in Washington in June 1937. Mary Beth then worked again with the Brooks company in the summer of 1938. The same year, she was offered a contract by MGM first, soon followed by a 20th Century Fox one. By the end of 1949, she sang in night clubs with her husband David Street. She also sang in nightclubs - but alone this time - between 1963 and 1965. It is to be noted that she provisionally left her acting and singing career in 1961 to become a receptionist-technician for an L.A. plastic surgeon.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Sammi Hanratty has been acting for more than half her life. She's had the pleasure of working with some of Hollywood's biggest names including Academy Award winning director Robert Zemeckis, Simon West, Barry Sonnenfeld, Jim Carrey, Robin Wright, Gary Oldman, Cary Elwes, Ray Liotta, Cuba Gooding Jr, Jon Hamm, and Tim Allen.
2013 was a busy year form Sammi. She wrapped principal production on three feature films, playing Patricia Heaton's daughter in the Sony film Mom's Night Out, the main character in the indie film Zoe Gone, and most recently, she starred alongside Olympia Dukakis and Nicolette Sheridan in The Christmas Spirit.
In addition to the big screen, Sammi's extensive television credits include guest starring on AMC's award-winning series Mad Men, David E. Kelley's series Monday Mornings, working with director Simon West on The Saint, and starring in three concurrent recurring roles on CBS's The Unit, ABC's Pushing Daisies, and Disney's The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Rita Hayworth was born Margarita Carmen Cansino on October 17, 1918, in Brooklyn, New York, into a family of dancers. Her father, Eduardo Cansino Reina, was a dancer as was his father before him. He emigrated from Spain in 1913. Rita's American mother, Volga Margaret (Hayworth), who was of mostly Irish descent, met Eduardo in 1916 and were married the following year. Rita, herself, studied as a dancer in order to follow in her family's footsteps. She joined her family on stage when she was eight years old when her family was filmed in a movie called La Fiesta (1926). It was her first film appearance, albeit an uncredited one. Sotted by Fox studio head Winfield R. Sheehan, she signed her first studio contract, and make her film debut at age sixteen, in Dante's Inferno (1935), followed by Cruz Diablo (1934). She continued to play small bit parts in several films under the name of "Rita Cansino". Fox dropped her after five small roles, but expert, exploitative promotion by her first husband Edward Judson soon brought Rita a new contract at Columbia Pictures, where studio head Harry Cohn changed her surname to Hayworth and approved raising her hairline by electrolysis. She played the second female lead, Judy McPherson, in Only Angels Have Wings (1939). After thirteen minor roles, Columbia lent her to Warner Bros. for her first big success, The Strawberry Blonde (1941); her splendid dancing with Fred Astaire in You'll Never Get Rich (1941) made her a star. This was the film that exuded the warmth and seductive vitality that was to make her famous. Her natural, raw beauty was showcased later that year in Blood and Sand (1941), filmed in Technicolor.
Rita was probably the second most popular actress after Betty Grable. In You'll Never Get Rich (1941) with Fred Astaire, was probably the film that moviegoers felt close to Rita. Her dancing, for which she had studied all her life, was astounding. After the hit Gilda (1946) (her dancing had made the film and it had made her), her career was on the skids. Although she was still making movies, they never approached her earlier success. The drought began between The Lady from Shanghai (1947) and Champagne Safari (1954). Then after Salome (1953), she was not seen again until Pal Joey (1957). Part of the reasons for the downward spiral was television, but also Rita had been replaced by a new star at Columbia, Kim Novak.
Rita, herself, said, "Men fell in love with Gilda, but they wake up with me". In person, Rita was shy, quiet and unassuming; only when the cameras rolled did she turn on the explosive sexual charisma that in Gilda (1946) made her a superstar. To Rita, though, domestic bliss was a more important, if elusive, goal, and in 1949 she interrupted her career for marriage - unfortunately an unhappy one almost from the start - to the playboy Prince Aly Khan. Her films after her divorce from Khan include perhaps her best straight acting performances, Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) and They Came to Cordura (1959).
After a few, rather forgettable films in the 1960s, her career was essentially over. Her final film was The Wrath of God (1972). Her career was really never the same after Gilda (1946). Perhaps Gene Ringgold said it best when he remarked, "Rita Hayworth is not an actress of great depth. She was a dancer, a glamorous personality, and a sex symbol. These qualities are such that they can carry her no further professionally." Perhaps he was right but Hayworth fans would vehemently disagree with him.
Beginning in 1960 (age 42), early onset of Alzheimer's disease (undiagnosed until 1980) limited Rita's ability. The last few roles in her 60-film career were increasingly small. With 20 years of symptoms, Rita was cared for by her daughter, Yasmin Khan, until Rita's death at age 68 on May 14, 1987, in New York City.- Actress
- Writer
- Casting Director
Krystal M. Harris is an actress, writer, and director who was born in North San Juan, California. She grew up on a chicken farm on 18- acres of rural property, and vividly remembers plucking chickens with her small 6-year-old hands, as well as searching for mountain lions on the vast acreage. She summered in the Philippines with her father and became enamored with the concept of a human thread that is unifying despite apparent differences... something that would aid her future career as a storyteller.
Her acting work can be seen on shows like Shameless, Ray Donovan, and the BET mini-series, "The New Edition Story." On film, she stars in the Pixl channel family movie, "Love Unplugged", and the highly anticipated upcoming Noel Poyner-directed film, "Better than Yourself."
Harris is an accomplished writer having penned, "The Wonder Girls," a television film for Teen Nick, which was profiled in Billboard Magazine in February 2022 for its "ahead of its time" insight into the current surge of the K-Pop genre on American audiences. Her independent pilot "The New Jim Crow: Majority Rules." won Best Pilot at the NYC Webfest, also garnering a nomination for Best First Time Female Director for the short project. This project was also selected to screen at the Southwest Regional Film Festival and garnered five more nominations and two wins from the Indie Short Fest. Her pandemic project Sunset which featured actors filming virtually in Los Angeles, CA, Atlanta, GA, and London, UK, was also nominated for NYC Webfest in 2021.
In 2022, Harris opened the publishing division of her production company, Krystal Muse Incorporated, with its first two children's books released in the Spring under the imprint, Krystal Muse Les Enfants. Working under her production banner, with its eyes set on the industry at large, Harris strives to develop content with a mission to tell stories that matter.
2017 HBO- Access Semi-Finalist 2021 Flip the Script Filmmaking Competition Finalist- Hollywood born and bred Kathleen Hughes posed for one of the most iconic publicity stills in show biz history. It depicts her wide-eyed, screaming and throwing up her hands in terror. This image has since been used on countless occasions and for diverse purposes ranging from birthday cards to the sale of hummus. It also became emblematic of the many alluring scream queens and femmes fatale portrayed by this blonde bombshell during her heyday as a B-movie star in the 1950s.
Kathleen was born Elizabeth Margaret von Gerkan of German ancestry. She attended Fairfax High School, City College and then studied at UCLA. She was instantly bitten by the acting bug after watching a movie with Donald O'Connor when she was thirteen years old. Moreover, her famous uncle, the playwright F. Hugh Herbert (author of The Moon is Blue) often took her along when visiting film sets which added to her fascination with Hollywood. Betty, as she was then called, went on to study drama at the Stella Adler School of Acting. In 1948, she was spotted by 20th Century Fox talent scout and producer Myron Selznick during a Little Theater stage production and signed to a seven year contract at $135 a week. Since producers at Fox deemed her birth name to be unsuitable for marquees, Betty took on the stage moniker Kathleen Hughes, an amalgam of her mother's first name and her uncle's surname.
As a starlet, her contract with Fox required her to be little more than ornamental. After a series of lackluster bit parts and no-name roles, Kathleen -- feeling very much underused -- left the studio after just three years. She was, however, fortunate to soon find a mentor in Paul Henreid, who gave her career a kick-start by casting her as a captivating blonde in his independently produced drama For Men Only (1952). Writer/producer Don McGuire saw the picture and helped her secure a new contract with Universal-International in 1952. Wanting to work "as much as possible", Kathleen accepted a small, but (as it turned out to be) famous role in the 3D cult sci-fi feature It Came from Outer Space (1953). She got on well with the director Jack Arnold (whose first foray into the genre this was) and already knew her co-star Richard Carlson, the Carlsons having been long-standing friends of her uncle.
In her next outing, the adventure film The Golden Blade (1953), Kathleen (playing a handmaiden in ancient Baghdad) gave her co-star Rock Hudson his first on-screen kiss. Her build-up gained further momentum with the publicity generated by being named 'First 3D Cheesecake Girl' by Hollywood press correspondents and then 'Miss Cheesecake of 1953' by the Army publication Stars and Stripes.
Kathleen received third billing in arguably her most important film (and her own personal favorite), The Glass Web (1953) (also directed by Arnold). This minor film noir with a TV studio setting had Kathleen playing an actress who just happened to be bad to the bone, blackmailing one guy (philanderer John Forsythe) and stringing along another (Edward G. Robinson, as an infatuated TV writer). Her character is unsurprisingly bumped off by Nr.2, who then implicates Nr.1 and concocts a seemingly clever script based on the crime. The Glass Web garnered mixed reviews, though Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrily commented: "Kathleen Hughes, who plays the blonde number, makes a dainty dish of poison". In very similar vein, she next chewed up the scenery as a seriously unhinged dame and the 'baddest 'of Three Bad Sisters (1956) (in one scene merrily horsewhipping one of her siblings). Kathleen commented in her later interviews that she had quite relished being typed as shady ladies, sirens and women of mystery.
The 1970s and 80s saw her steadily employed in television, albeit in smaller roles, often as secretaries or nurses. She made recurring appearances in NBC's Bracken's World (1969) (as Mitch) and in The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1968) (Mrs. Coburn), both produced by her husband. Kathleen was also briefly glimpsed in a home movie sent to Korea as Henry Blake's wife Lorraine in an episode of M*A*S*H (1972). Her final screen credit was in 2018.
During her later years, Kathleen involved herself in a wide range of philanthropic endeavours, supporting research into cancer and Alzheimer's disease, helping to fund children's hospitals and donating to educational organizations, such as the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
In July 1954, Kathleen had married the producer Stanley Rubin. Their union -- an exceedingly happy one by Hollywood standards -- endured for 59 years, until his death in March 2014 at the age of 96. The couple had four children and resided in the exclusive Bird Streets neighbourhood of Los Angeles in a house built for them by the architect Richard Frazer in 1956. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Audrey Hepburn was born as Audrey Kathleen Ruston on May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. Her mother, Baroness Ella Van Heemstra, was a Dutch noblewoman, while her father, Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, was born in Úzice, Bohemia, to English and Austrian parents.
After her parents' divorce, Audrey went to London with her mother where she went to a private girls school. Later, when her mother moved back to the Netherlands, she attended private schools as well. While she vacationed with her mother in Arnhem, Netherlands, Hitler's army took over the town. It was here that she fell on hard times during the Nazi occupation. Audrey suffered from depression and malnutrition.
After the liberation, she went to a ballet school in London on a scholarship and later began a modeling career. As a model, she was graceful and, it seemed, she had found her niche in life--until the film producers came calling. In 1948, after being spotted modeling by a producer, she was signed to a bit part in the European film Nederlands in zeven lessen (1948). Later, she had a speaking role in the 1951 film, Young Wives' Tale (1951) as Eve Lester. The part still wasn't much, so she headed to America to try her luck there. Audrey gained immediate prominence in the US with her role in Roman Holiday (1953). This film turned out to be a smashing success, and she won an Oscar as Best Actress.
On September 25, 1954, she married actor Mel Ferrer. She also starred in Sabrina (1954), for which she received another Academy Award nomination. She starred in the films Funny Face (1957) and Love in the Afternoon (1957). She received yet another Academy Award nomination for her role in The Nun's Story (1959). On July 17, 1960, she gave birth to her first son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer.
Audrey reached the pinnacle of her career when she played Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), for which she received another Oscar nomination. She scored commercial success again playing Regina Lampert in the espionage caper Charade (1963). One of Audrey's most radiant roles was in the fine production of My Fair Lady (1964). After a couple of other movies, most notably Two for the Road (1967), she hit pay dirt and another nomination in Wait Until Dark (1967).
In 1967, Audrey decided to retire from acting while she was on top. She divorced from Mel Ferrer in 1968. On January 19, 1969, she married Dr. Andrea Dotti. On February 8, 1970, she gave birth to her second son, Luca Dotti in Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland. From time to time, she would appear on the silver screen.
In 1988, she became a special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF fund helping children in Latin America and Africa, a position she retained until 1993. She was named to People's magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. Her last film was Always (1989).
Audrey Hepburn died, aged 63, on January 20, 1993 in Tolochnaz, Vaud, Switzerland, from appendicular cancer. She had made a total of 31 high quality movies. Her elegance and style will always be remembered in film history as evidenced by her being named in Empire magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time".- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Martha Hyer was born on August 10, 1924 in Fort Worth, Texas. Once she finished her formal schooling, Martha played a bit role in 1946's The Locket (1946). Slowly, Martha began picking up roles with more and more substance. The best years for the beautiful actress began in 1954 when she played in films such as Down Three Dark Streets (1954), Showdown at Abilene (1956) and Battle Hymn (1957). Perhaps the best role of her long career was as "Gwen French" in 1958's Some Came Running (1958) in which she starred opposite Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine. As a result of her stellar role, Martha received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress, but she lost out to Wendy Hiller in Separate Tables (1958). Afterwards, Martha's stint on the US silver screen's trailed off some. She did make a handful of foreign films, returning to appear in the US from time to time, but nothing compared to the pace she had in the fifties. Her last film was in 1973 in the film The Day of the Wolves (1971). In 1966, she married producer Hal B. Wallis and remained with him until his death in 1986.- Anyone who loves B-movies of the 1950s appreciates this lovely actress Allison Hayes. She was born Mary Jane Hayes on March 6, 1930 in Charleston, West Virginia. The auburn-haired beauty was the 1949 Washington, D.C. entry into the Miss America pageant. Shortly afterwards, Mary Jane adopted the familiar first name of Allison. She got her start on local Washington television before heading to Hollywood in the early 1950s. Allison began her career with Universal Pictures; the studio groomed her, but only on the path of B-movies. In her film debut, Francis Joins the WACS (1954), she was a supporting actress to the speaking mule, which had the title role. She played the devilishly alluring "Livia" in The Undead (1957), and co-starred with B-movie legend Tor Johnson in The Unearthly (1957).
Allison achieved film immortality in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), in which she tore the roof off the place, and killed rival Yvette Vickers. After that, Allison was a staple in classic B-grade horror films. She was in the exploitation classic The Hypnotic Eye (1960), which had a trailer showing an alleged hypnotist mesmerizing a volunteer as he stuck long needles in her arms (this was some of the typical ballyhoo going on at the time). However, Allison was a versatile actress; she did drama very well, as when she guest-starred on the television series The Untouchables (1959), in the highly-rated episode, The Rusty Heller Story (1960).
Allison had a flair for comedy, which she demonstrated when she appeared in the Dean Martin film, Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963). Her last film appearance was with "The King", himself, Elvis Presley in Tickle Me (1965), with a hilarious script by the legendary writer Elwood Ullman. However, Allison's health declined steadily throughout the 1960s. Her death on February 27, 1977 was due either to leukemia or lead poisoning (due to doctor-prescribed calcium supplements). Allison Hayes died far too young; her fans will forever remember her legacy in films. - Sandrine Holt was born in London, England, UK. Sandrine is an actor, known for House of Cards (2013), Mr. Robot (2015) and Homeland (2011). Sandrine was previously married to Travis Huff.
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Born to public school teachers in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Laura Harris began acting professionally in CBC radio dramas at an early age. With a taste for quirky, character-driven material, Harris is known for playing 1930's starlet "Daisy Adair" in Showtime's cult hit Dead Like Me (2003) with Mandy Patinkin and Callum Blue. Film work includes Robert Rodriguez's The Faculty (1998), Christopher Guest 's A Mighty Wind (2003) and Chris Smith's comedic thriller Severance (2006) with Toby Stephens and Tim McInnerny. Recently voicing the role of "Kitty Pryde" in Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men (2009), other television work includes Showtime's The Outer Limits (1995), CTV's Defying Gravity (2009) with Ron Livingston and a SAG nominated turn in FOX's runaway hit 24 (2001) starring Kiefer Sutherland. In her personal time, Laura is active in the food justice community, recently receiving a full scholarship for the University of California, Berkeley to study social-ecological systems design. She splits her time between Los Angeles and the Bay Area.- Mimi Heinrich was born on 1 November 1936 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was an actress, known for Reptilicus (1961), Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962) and Soldaterkammerater rykker ud (1959). She died on 31 May 2017 in Ramløse, Denmark.
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Salma Hayek was born on September 2, 1966 in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. Her father is of Lebanese descent and her mother is of Mexican/Spanish ancestry. After having seen Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) in a local movie theater, she decided she wanted to become an actress. At age 12, she was sent to the Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, Louisiana. After attending Mexico City's prestigious university Universidad Iberoamericana, she felt ready to pursue acting seriously.
She soon landed the title role in Teresa (1989), a hugely successful soap opera which earned her the star status in her native Mexico. However, anxious to make films and to explore her talent as well as passion, she left both Teresa (1989) and Mexico in 1991. Heartbroken fans spread rumors that she was having a secret affair with Mexico's president and left to escape his wife's wrath. She made her way to Los Angeles. She approached Hollywood with naive enthusiasm and quickly learned that Latina actresses were typecast as the mistress maid or local prostitute. By late 1992, she had landed only small roles. She appeared on Street Justice (1991), The Sinbad Show (1993), Nurses (1991), and as a sexy maid on Dream On (1990). She also had only one line in My Crazy Life (1993). Feeling under-appreciated by Anglo filmmakers, she vented her frustrations on Paul Rodriguez's late-night Spanish-language talk show.
Robert Rodriguez and his wife Elizabeth Avellan happened to be watching and were immediately smitten with her. He soon gave her big break -- to star opposite Antonio Banderas in the cult classic Desperado (1995), bringing her into Hollywood prominence. The moviegoers were as dazzled with her as he had been. Afterwards, she was cast again by Rodriguez to star in the cult classic From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). Her first star billing came later that year with Fools Rush In (1997) opposite Matthew Perry. It was a modest hit and her star continued to rise in both commercial and films such as Breaking Up (1997) with an unknown Russell Crowe, 54 (1998), Dogma (1999) and In the Time of the Butterflies (2001), the small artistic film which won her an ALMA award as best actress and the summer blockbuster Wild Wild West (1999). Her production company Ventanarosa produced the Mexican feature film El coronel no tiene quien le escriba (1999), which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and selected as Mexico's official Oscar entry for best foreign film.
The new millennium started out quietly as she prepared to produce and star in her dream role of Frida Kahlo, the legendary Mexican painter whom she had been admiring her entire life and whose story she wanted to bring to the big screen ever since she arrived in Hollywood. Frida (2002) was full of passion and enthusiasm, with performances from her and Alfred Molina as Kahlo's cheating husband Diego Rivera. It also featured an entourage of stars such as Antonio Banderas, Ashley Judd, Geoffrey Rush, Edward Norton and Valeria Golino.
It was a box office hit and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including best actress for Hayek. It won awards for make-up and score by Elliot Goldenthal. Later that year, she expanded her horizons, directing The Maldonado Miracle (2003), which was shown at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2003, she starred in the finale of Rodriguez's Desperado trilogy Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), again opposite Banderas. She also starred in After the Sunset (2004) opposite Pierce Brosnan, and Ask the Dust (2006) opposite Colin Farrell. She then starred in Bandidas (2006), which also featured Penélope Cruz, and Lonely Hearts (2006) opposite Jared Leto.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Liz Holtan was born on 15 September 1984 in Port Washington, Wisconsin, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Man on a Ledge (2012), The Intern (2015) and Listen to Your Heart (2010).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Florence Henderson was considered by protocol executive Jerold Franks, CSA to be "...one of the most generous stars I have ever worked with." Los Angeles, New York and all parts of the country, Florence has helped raise millions of dollars for various charitable organizations.
Jerold Franks, friend and confidante to actress Mary Martin as well as producer of Ms. Martin's Celebration of Life moved the date of the tribute at the Majestic Theatre in New York out of respect to Mary and Florence's personal friendship as well as having played the role of "Maria" for hundreds of performances. Any Mary Martin tribute can never not include Florence Henderson. I love her as a performer and very proud to call her a friend. Franks was introduced to her late and second husband, John Kappas. Franks' credits his friend Florence for introducing him to certified hypnotist John Kappas to deal with the death of Franks' only son.- Emily Holmes was born on 1 March 1977 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress, known for Paycheck (2003), Snakes on a Plane (2006) and The Wicker Man (2006). She has been married to Michael Ziff since 12 November 2004.
- In 2022 Jennifer Holland can be seen starring as Emilia Harcourt in HBO Max's highly anticipated action series "Peacemaker." Based on the DC Comics and executive produced and written by James Gunn, "Peacemaker" is the first DC Extended Universe television series, and follows Peacemaker (John Cena) who believes in achieving peace, at any cost. Holland shines as Harcourt, a loyal, lifelong black ops member who believes in her line of work, you do not hesitate to do your job. For Harcourt, emotions and friends are liabilities, and she is irked when inexperienced new recruit Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) joins her team, just another liability to navigate. Holland debuted as Harcourt in Warner Bros' "The Suicide Squad," Gunn's hyper-violent, triumphant reimagining of the 2016 feature. "Peacemaker" picks up where "The Suicide Squad" left off, and will premiere on January 13, 2022 on HBO Max.
Additional television credits for Holland include starring in CMT's "Sun Records," "Rush Hour," "Perception," "The Glades," "American Horror Story," "Bones," "Rizzoli & Isles," "Cougar Town," and "CSI: Miami." In film, Holland recently appeared in Screen Gem's anti-superhero horror flick "Brightburn" opposite Elizabeth Banks.
Born and raised outside of Chicago, Holland grew up as a competitive gymnast, where she discovered her love of performing. She participated in theater throughout middle and high school, joining the drama and film clubs to further explore her love of bringing characters to life. At just 16 years old she decided to pursue a professional career in Los Angeles, and made the move to the west coast to immerse herself in the industry. She has been working ever since.
Over the years Holland has supported a myriad of charities as giving back is essential for her. She is an ongoing supporter of The Rainforest Trust, and is passionate about criminal justice reform, the reduction of human impact on the environment and climate change. When Holland isn't on set you can find her in the outdoors; she loves hiking, biking, kayaking, and being active. She is also a self-proclaimed astronomy geek; astronomers, theoretical physicists, engineers, and scientists are her heroes. Holland currently lives in the Los Angeles area, with her puggle Lola and cat Emily. - Actress
- Director
- Producer
Bryce Dallas Howard was born on March 2, 1981, in Los Angeles, California. She was conceived in Dallas, Texas (the reason for her middle name). Her father, Ron Howard, is a former actor turned Oscar-winning director. Her mother is actress and writer Cheryl Howard (née Alley). Her famous relatives include her uncle, actor Clint Howard, and her grandparents, actors Rance Howard and Jean Speegle Howard. She also has two younger twin sisters, Jocelyn and Paige Howard (also an actress), born in 1985, and a brother, Reed Howard, born in 1987. Her ancestry includes German, English, Scottish, and Irish.
Howard was raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, because her parents decided to raise their four children as far away from the trappings of showbiz milieu as possible. During most of her childhood, she really did not have much access to a TV. She attended Greenwich Country Day School, and Byram Hills High School in Armonk, New York. At that time, she discovered existentialism and devoured books by Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. She attended the prestigious Steppenwolf School and Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts camp at Catskills, together with her friend, Natalie Portman. She applied to drama school as Bryce Dallas, dropping her last name to eschew special treatment because of association with her renowned father. From 1999-2003, she studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory and at the New York University Tisch School of Arts and graduated with a BFA degree in Drama in 2003. At that time, she performed in Broadway productions of classical plays by George Bernard Shaw, William Shakespeare and Anton Chekhov.
Young Howard appeared in three of her father's films as an extra, including her appearance as a child together with her mother in Apollo 13 (1995). She made her feature-film debut as Heather, a supporting role in Book of Love (2004) by director Alan Brown. Director M. Night Shyamalan was impressed by her performance in a Broadway play and cast her, without an audition, as a female lead in his two thrillers: The Village (2004) and Lady in the Water (2006). Howard replaced Nicole Kidman in the Dogville (2003) sequel, Manderlay (2005). She starred as Rosalind in As You Like It (2006), a reprise of her stage role that made such an impression on Shyamalan. She also played Gwen Stacy in the third installment of the Spider-Man franchise, Spider-Man 3 (2007), and the female lead, Claire, in the sequel Jurassic World (2015). Both films broke the records for highest openings weekends at the time of their release. Among Bryce's other major films are Terminator Salvation (2009), The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), The Help (2011), and 50/50 (2011).
Howard became a devoted vegan, after Joaquin Phoenix showed her Earthlings (2005), a documentary about animal cruelty. After seeing that, she has consumed no animal products, not even milk or eggs. Her other activities outside of the acting profession include playing basketball and writing.
On June 17, 2006, in Connecticut, she married her long-time boyfriend, actor Seth Gabel, whom she met at New York University and had dated for five years. On February 16, 2007, Bryce and her husband, Seth, became parents of their first child, a son named Theodore Norman Howard Gabel. Their second child, a daughter named Beatrice Jean Howard Gabel, was born on January 19, 2012.- Laura Haddock was born on 21 August 1985 in England, UK. She is an actress, known for Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017). She was previously married to Sam Claflin.