Vina Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film King Kong.
28 Facts About Fay Wray
2.
Fay Wray has been dubbed one of the early "scream queens".
3.
Fay Wray was born on a ranch near Cardston, Alberta, to parents who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elvina Marguerite Jones, who was from Salt Lake City, Utah, and Joseph Heber Fay Wray, who was from Kingston upon Hull, England.
4.
Fay Wray was one of six children and was a granddaughter of LDS pioneer Daniel Webster Jones.
5.
Fay Wray's ancestors came from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
6.
Fay Wray was never baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
7.
Fay Wray's family returned to the United States a few years after she was born; they moved to Salt Lake City in 1912 and moved to Lark, Utah, in 1914.
8.
In 1919, the Wray family returned to Salt Lake City, and then relocated to Hollywood, where Fay attended Hollywood High School.
9.
In 1923, Fay Wray appeared in her first film at the age of 16, when she landed a role in a short historical film sponsored by a local newspaper.
10.
Fay Wray was at the time under contract to Universal Studios, mostly co-starring in low-budget Westerns opposite Buck Jones.
11.
Fay Wray stayed with Paramount to make more than a dozen films and made the transition from silent films to "talkies".
12.
Under these deals, Fay Wray was cast in several horror films, including Doctor X and Mystery of the Wax Museum.
13.
The Most Dangerous Game was followed by the release of Fay Wray's best remembered film, King Kong.
14.
The film was a commercial success and Fay Wray was reportedly proud that the film saved RKO from bankruptcy.
15.
Fay Wray continued to star in films, including The Richest Girl in the World, but by the early 1940s, her appearances became less frequent.
16.
Fay Wray retired in 1942 after her second marriage but due to financial exigencies she soon resumed her acting career, and over the next three decades, Wray appeared in several films and appeared frequently on television.
17.
In 1959, Fay Wray was cast as Tula Marsh in the episode "The Second Happiest Day" of Playhouse 90.
18.
Fay Wray appeared in a 1961 episode of The Real McCoys titled "Theatre in the Barn".
19.
Fay Wray ended her acting career with the 1980 made-for-television film Gideon's Trumpet.
20.
Fay Wray was approached by James Cameron to play the part of Rose Dawson Calvert for his blockbuster Titanic with Kate Winslet to play her younger self, but she turned down the role, which was portrayed by Gloria Stuart in an Oscar-nominated performance.
21.
In January 2003, the 95-year-old Fay Wray appeared at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival to celebrate the Rick McKay documentary film Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There, where she was honored with a "Legend in Film" award.
22.
Fay Wray had three children: Susan Saunders, Victoria Riskin, and Robert Riskin Jr.
23.
Fay Wray died in her sleep of natural causes in the night of August 8,2004, in her apartment on Fifth Avenue Manhattan.
24.
Fay Wray is interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
25.
In 1989, Fay Wray was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award.
26.
Fay Wray was honored with a Legend in Film award at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival.
27.
Fay Wray received a star posthumously on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto on June 5,2005.
28.
In May 2006, Fay Wray became one of the first four entertainers to be honored by Canada Post by being featured on a postage stamp.