Best known for her portrayal of ingenues, Sandra Dee earned a Golden Globe Award as one of the year's most promising newcomers for her performance in Robert Wise's Until They Sail.
20 Facts About Sandra Dee
2.
Sandra Dee became a teenage star for her performances in Imitation of Life and Gidget, which made her a household name.
3.
Sandra Dee attempted a comeback with the 1970 independent horror film The Dunwich Horror, but rarely acted after this time, appearing only occasionally in television productions throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.
4.
Sandra Dee was born Alexandra Zuck on April 23,1942, in Bayonne, New Jersey, the only child of John Zuck and Mary Zuck, who met as teenagers at a Russian Orthodox Church dance.
5.
Sandra Dee graduated from University High School in Los Angeles in June 1958, aged 16.
6.
Sandra Dee provided the voice of Gerda for the English dub of The Snow Queen.
7.
In 1958, Sandra Dee signed with Universal Pictures and was one of the company's last contract players prior to the dissolution of the studio system.
8.
Sandra Dee had a lead role in The Restless Years for producer Ross Hunter, opposite Saxon and Teresa Wright.
9.
Sandra Dee followed this with another film for Hunter, A Stranger in My Arms.
10.
Sandra Dee was loaned to Columbia Pictures to play the title role in the teenage beach comedy Gidget, which was a solid hit, helping spawn the beach party genre and leading to two sequels, two television series and two television movies.
11.
Hunter reunited Sandra Dee with Turner and Saxon in Universal's Portrait in Black, a thriller that was a financial success despite receiving harsh reviews.
12.
Sandra Dee was listed as the nation's seventh-greatest star at the end of 1960.
13.
Sandra Dee appeared in I'd Rather Be Rich, a musical remake of It Started with Eve, for Hunter.
14.
Sandra Dee was reunited with Darin in That Funny Feeling before appearing in her last film at Universal under her contract with the spy comedy A Man Could Get Killed.
15.
Sandra Dee was a singer and recorded some singles in the early 1960s, including a cover version of "When I Fall in Love".
16.
Sandra Dee rarely acted following her 1967 divorce from Darin.
17.
Sandra Dee battled anorexia nervosa, depression and alcoholism for many years, hitting a low point after her mother died of lung cancer on December 27,1987, at age 63.
18.
Sandra Dee stated that for months she became a recluse living on soup, crackers and Scotch, with her body weight falling to only 80 pounds.
19.
Sandra Dee stopped drinking altogether after she was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2000, which was attributed to years of heavy drinking and smoking.
20.
Sandra Dee was interred in a crypt at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills.