UPDATED 4/26/2021

Pretty much everything about the 1960s was about change: music (The Beatles), movies (James Bond), fashions (take your pick), hairstyles, television sitcoms, and dramas, and sex symbols (hello, Raquel Welch).

Whether you’re talking about the big screen or the small, there’s no question that there were so many stars — who we absolutely consider fabulous — that caught our attention between 1960 and 1969 (many getting their start before those years, of course), that the time has come for us to take a look back at 50 of them that really had an impact. From Barbara Eden to Raquel Welch, Ann-Margret to Elizabeth Montgomery and so many more.

Do you remember all of them? Give your memory a workout by scrolling down and enjoy this trip back through time.

RELATED: 50 Fabulous Stars from the 70s Then and Now 2020

1. Brigitte Bardot

This singer, actress, and animal rights activist was born Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot on September 28, 1934, in France. She captured the imagination of fans with her debut in 1952’s Le Trou Normand. Between that and 1973’s The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot, she appeared in dozens of French-language films.

‘And God Created Woman’

Although she starred in 15 movies before it, the one that is credited with establishing her as a star, as well as a sex kitten, was 1956’s And God Created Women, directed by then-husband Roger Vadim.

American Audiences Loved Her, Too

While her greatest success was in Europe, Brigitte was nonetheless embraced as a sex symbol in America as well, many of her films being dubbed in English. One of the most intriguing was her starring in the 1968 Western Shalako alongside Sean Connery, who at the time was trying to break away from his image as James Bond.

She’s a Singer, Too!

In addition to acting, Brigitte recorded over a dozen albums and wrote five books, including her 1996 autobiography Initiales B.B.: Memoires. She announced her retirement from show business in 1973 and in 1986 formed the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which is devoted to the welfare and protection of animals. In her private life, she has been married four times, is the mother of Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, and is a breast cancer survivor. She is 86.

2. Yvonne Craig (1937-2015)

No matter what she did before and after, actress Yvonne Craig will always be famous for bringing the character of Batgirl to life on the Adam West Batman TV show of the 1960s. Born May 16, 1937, in Taylorville, Illinois, she began her professional life with dreams of being a ballerina, but when she moved to Los Angeles to pursue it further, she found herself cast in film roles instead.

The Road to Batgirl

Yvonne made her movie debut in 1957’s Eighteen and Anxious, followed by such titles as Gidget (1959), the Elvis films It Happened at the World’s Fair (1963) and Kissin’ Cousins (1964), In Like Flint (1967), and Don Knotts’ How to Frame a Figg (1971). During those years she made many television appearances, including Perry Mason, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (six episodes, but all different parts), 77 Sunset Strip, TV Westerns Laramie and Death Valley Days, My Favorite Martian, and My Three Sons.

Pow! Zap! Bam!

With ratings starting to decline on what had been one of the hottest shows of the 1960s, Yvonne was brought in to bring the character of Barbara Gordon (daughter of Commissioner Gordon) to life, with everyone being unaware of the fact that she has also assumed the role of Batgirl. Needless to say, as evident in the photo below, she brought something to the show that, frankly, neither Adam West nor Burt Ward (who played Robin) could. Sadly, her casting did not do the trick in terms of ratings and the show was canceled after its third season.

Real Estate, Memoirs, and Reunions

Following Batman, Yvonne began making guest appearances again, including the original Star Trek as a green-skinned Orion slave girl. With roles slowing down, she switched over to real estate for a number of years. Additionally, she participated in a Batman television reunion in the 1990s with West, Ward, and Julie Newmar, who played Catwoman on the show; and she wrote her autobiography, From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond, which was published in 2000. Sadly, Yvonne, who was married twice, died on August 17, 2015, of metastatic breast cancer that had spread to her liver. She was 78.

3. Ursula Andress

Ursula Andress stepping out of the water in a bikini in the first James Bond movie, Dr. No (1962), created a classic iconic cinematic moment that few have been able to touch. And, it’s also the image you’re likely to see whenever somebody talks about the Swiss actress. Born March 19, 1936, when she was at a party she met a producer who offered her a screen test — which led to a part in the 1955 Italian film The Sins of Casanova. After a few more films, she was convinced to give Hollywood a shot.

Bond and Beyond

She made her American debut in a 1962 episode of Thriller, starring alongside Alejandro Rey (later part of The Flying Nun). That same year she played Honey Ryder in Dr. No and became an instant star, though one hindrance was the fact that despite speaking three languages, English was not among them, often resulting in her voice being dubbed. Hollywood and the audience didn’t seem to mind. In 1963 she co-starred with Elvis in Fun in Acapulco and with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra in 4 for Texas.

Enjoying Her Time in the Spotlight

For a time, Ursula’s stardom continued, co-starring with George Peppard in The Blue Max (1966), Peter Sellers in the James Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967), Charles Bronson in Red Sun (1971), The Sensuous Nurse (1975), and the fantasy Clash of the Titans (1981). After that, there were some TV guest appearances and her return to Italian films. She’s been married four times and has one child.

4. Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993)

She was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston on May 4, 1929, in Belgium. All told, Audrey Hepburn had a pretty remarkable life: she worked as a part of the Dutch resistance against the Nazis during World War II, spent some time as a ballerina and dancer, but then had to go to work as a cook and housekeeper to help raise money for her family, who had lost their fortune during the war. Realizing she could earn more money acting, that became her focus (reluctantly, as it turns out).

From ‘Gigi’ to Tiffany’s’

Audrey would star in the Broadway stage version of Gigi from 1951 to 1952, but not the 1958 film (Leslie Caron played the part). Her movie credits would include quite a number of classics, among them Roman Holiday (1953), Sabrina (1954), Funny Face (1957), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Charade (1963), My Fair Lady (1967), Wait Until Dark (1967), Robin and Marian (1976) and Always (1989). She was married twice and had a partner for 13 years. The mother of two, she died from cancer on January 20, 1993, at age 63. In her lifetime she was very active in humanitarian efforts, particularly UNICEF.

5. Nichelle Nichols

Nichelle Nichols (born December 28, 1932, in Robbins, Illinois) helped break barriers on prime time television for blacks, by playing Lt. Uhura on the original Star Trek. It’s a role she would reprise on the 1973 to 1974 animated series and six motion pictures, beginning with 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture and concluding with 1991’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Life Off the Starship Enterprise

Beyond Trek, Nichelle worked with NASA for a time, helping with the recruitment of female astronauts, she recorded a pair of albums, has made a number of TV guest appearances (including providing her voice for shows like Futurama and The Simpsons), and appeared in such movies as Truck Turner (1974), The Supernaturals (1986), Snow Dogs (2002), Renegades (2016) and Unbelievable!!!!!! (2020). She’s written two books, her autobiography Beyond Uhura and Saturn’s Child. She was married twice and has one child. Nichelle is 87.

6. Sharon Tate (1943-1969)

Anyone seeing Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood undoubtedly came away with some knowledge of Sharon Tate, notably the fact that this rising star — as well as her unborn child and others in her home — was murdered by Charles Manson’s followers on August 9, 1969. Just horrible.

Rising Star

Throughout the 1960s, Sharon was being heralded as a true presence in Hollywood, whose star was only getting brighter. She was born in Dallas, Texas on January 24, 1943. On television, she portrayed Janet Trego in 15 episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies between 1963 and 1965 and appeared on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Mister Ed. Her big-screen credits include Barabbas (1961), alongside Anthony Quinn; and Eye of the Devil (1966).

‘Fearless Vampire Killers’ in the ‘Valley of the Dolls’

The goofy horror-comedy The Fearless Vampire Killers arrived in 1967, which was significant for her in that the director was Roman Polanski (who would next direct the classic horror film Rosemary’s Baby). The two of them would fall in love, get married and it was his child she was carrying at the time of her murder. Her remaining films were Valley of the Dolls (1967), based on the novel by Jacqueline Susann; Dean Martin’s spy spoof The Wrecking Crew (1968), and The Thirteen Chairs released following her death. She was 26-years-old.

7. Angela Cartwright

There’s no doubt that, as a youngster, Angela Cartwright had a truly amazing career. She made her movie debut at age 3 in an uncredited role in Paul Newman’s 1956 drama, Somebody Up There Likes Me. Then, from 1957 to 1964, played Linda Williams on The Danny Thomas Show (a role she would reprise in the short-lived Make Room for Granddaddy from 1970 to 1971). In between, she managed to co-star as Brigitta von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1965).

‘Lost in Space’

Although Angela would make a number of TV guest appearances in the ’60s and ’70s, she’s probably most remembered for playing Penny Robinson in Irwin Allen’s Lost in Space (1965 to 1968). In the intervening years, she switched to photography, has co-written and published a number of art-related books, and, with Lost in Space co-star Bill Mumy, wrote the 2018 novel On Purpose: A Novel. She been married Steve Gullion in 1976 and they have two children.

8. Shirley Eaton

There is simply no way to look back at the fabulous stars of the 1960s and not single out most of the actresses who were cast as “Bond Girls” (apologies for the sexism). Ursula Andress from Dr. No is above, and Shirley Eaton portrayed Jill Masterson in the third 007 film, Goldfinger (1964). She’s the one who, after cheating on the bad guy with Bond, is killed and covered head to toe in gold paint.

The Big Screen Beckons

Born January 12, 1937, in England, Shirley was actually a singing star on British television and the stage throughout the 1950s — shows headlined by her. She starred in a number of films, including Three Men in a Boat (1956) and The Girl Hunters (1963), in which author Mickey Spillane played his own character, Mike Hammer.

Life Beyond 007

Surprisingly, Shirley only made seven more movies after Goldfinger, from 1965’s The Naked Brigade to 1969’s The Girl from Rio. She was married to Colin Rowe from 1957 until his death in 1994. She has two children.

9. Janet Leigh (1927-2004)

Yes, Janet Leigh accomplished many things over the course of her career. And she had been married to Tony Curtis. And they’re the parents of actress Jamie Lee Curtis — but somehow none of that is as historic (if that’s not too strong a word for it) as her having played Marion “I Should Have Stayed Out of the Shower” Crane in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. It’s the most famous shower murder in history and remains terrifying 60 years later.

MGM and ‘Psycho’

Janet, who was born July 6, 1927, in Merced, California, began working with MGM on the 1947 Civil War film The Romance of Rosy Ridge, followed by that same year’s If Winter Comes. She worked steadily throughout the ’50s and ’50s, becoming a huge star in the process. That experience and audience awareness is what she brought to Psycho, which could have been dismissed as just an exploitive horror film, but was much more. Particularly with Hitchcock’s brilliant idea of killing off Marion Crane mid-way through, completely throwing audience expectations off as the focus shifted to Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates character.

‘Bye Bye Birdie’

Following Psycho, Janet just moved from strength to strength, costarring with Frank Sinatra in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), the adaptation of the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie (1963) which featured Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman’s private eye film Harper and Jerry Lewis’ Three on a Couch (both 1966). Her film roles slowed down after 1980’s The Fog, though she did co-star with Jamie Lee in 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. She did find extensive work in episodic television as well as TV movies. Janet was married four times: John Carlisle (1942, annulled the same year), Stanley Reames (1945 to 1949), Tony Curtis (1951 to 1962), and Robert Brandt (beginning in 1961). Besides Jamie Lee, she is the mother of Kelly Curtis. She died at age 77 on October 3, 2004, of vasculitis.

10. Julie Newmar

She may be remembered by many people as Catwoman on the 1960s’ Batman television show, but Julie Newmar has enjoyed a career that has spanned television (numerous guest-starring roles plus her own 1964 to 1965 series, My Living Doll), the big screen, the stage, dancing, singing, inventing (of some lingerie!) and real estate. Quite the incredible lifetime of experience and, at 87, she obviously has no plans of slowing down.

11. Mia Farrow

You know, there’s more to Mia Farrow than the seemingly endless battles and accusations (both ways) between her and her ex, Woody Allen. A former fashion model, besides being an actress she’s an activist and has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. She was born Maria de Lourdes Villiers “Mia” Farrow on February 9, 1945, in Los Angeles.

‘Peyton Place’

The first project that Mia was involved with that caught on with the public was the ABC prime time soap opera Peyton Place, which was so popular for a time that it was actually aired as three half-hour installments a week. The show ran from 1964 to 1969 and the actress, who portrayed Allison MacKenzie, was a part of it from the beginning. However, she married Frank Sinatra in 1966 and he apparently didn’t like the fact that her focus was anywhere but on him and insisted that she quit that same year. For the record, their marriage ended in 1968.

‘Rosemary’s Baby’

Taking the lead role in 1968’s Rosemary’s Baby, Mia Farrow found herself a genuine movie star. The film, especially for its time, was a pretty terrifying exercise about a woman who finds herself impregnated with Satan’s offspring, and surrounded by members of a satanic cult. Sounds like an old hat now, but it wasn’t then and is still effective today. From there, she would shift back and forth between film, TV, and stage performances — many of them highly acclaimed. A romantic relationship with Woody Allen led to her starring in many of his films throughout the ’80s and early ’90s. In her personal life, after her marriage with Frank Sinatra ended, she married composer and conductor Andre Previn in 1970, though they divorced nine years later. Her relationship with Allen went from 1980 to 1992, when she discovered he was involved in a relationship with her then 22-year-old adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. Not a good situation. Mia has four biological children and nine adopted.

12. Barbara Eden

From singing in her church choir to studying theater, becoming Miss San Francisco in 1951 and four years later becoming a semi-regular on The Johnny Carson Show (not The Tonight Show), followed by numerous TV guest star appearances, a starring role in one (1957 to 1959’s How to Marry a Millionaire) and nearly 20 feature films to her credit, Barbara Eden brought a wealth of experience to the table when she was cast along with Larry Hagman in I Dream of Jeannie (playing she who was dreamed of) in 1965.

‘Jeannie’ to Oh-So-Many TV Movies

With I Dream of Jeannie ending its run in 1970, Barbara never stopped moving. She starred in a wide variety of mostly dramatic TV movies (though there were a pair of pretty bad Jeannie reunion flicks in there) and a few feature films, including 1978’s Harper Valley PTA, which spawned her 1981 to 1982 TV series version. She also hit the stage in many productions, most notably in the national production of the musical comedy Woman of the Year in 1984 and, from 2000 to 2004, the national touring production of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple: The Female Version, in which she played Florence Unger opposite Rita McKenzie’s Olive Madison. And she recorded two albums. Through it all, she always embraced her legacy as Jeannie, even going so far as celebrating her 85th birthday by donning her old costume for a public event. That’s somebody who loves her character.

Personally Speaking

Barbara was born Barbara Jean Morehead on August 23, 1931, in Tucson, Arizona. She’s been married three times, to actor Michael Ansara from 1958 until their divorce in 1974; Charles Fegert from 1977 to their divorce in 1982, and Jon Eicholtz beginning in 1981. With Ansara, she had one son, Richard, who tragically died of a drug overdose in 2001.

13. Angie Dickinson

Angeline Brown (later Angie Dickinson) started out with an interest in business and writing, but ended up coming in second place for a Miss America contest that she also won in the sense that she caught the eye of a casting director, who got her on The Jimmy Durante Show as a “showgirl.” Always fascinated with Hollywood, this worked out perfectly for her as she threw herself into acting. Her first dramatic role was on Death Valley Days, which led to guest appearances on dozens of different shows from the ’50s through the ’90s. From 1974 to 1978 she starred as Sergeant Suzanne “Pepper” Anderson on 91 episodes of Police Woman, 13 episodes of Cassie & Co. (1982), and five episodes of Wild Palms (1993).

Big Screen Success

Her first part in 1954 (Lucky Me) was uncredited, but she kept at it and over the next few years really made a name for herself as she showcased her talents as an actress. Angie finally became a leading lady by starring alongside John Wayne in Rio Bravo (1959) and things just kept going. A handful of her movie credits include the original Ocean’s Eleven (1960), The Killers (1964), Point Blank (1967), Sam Whiskey (1969), Big Bad Mama (1974 — hey, they can’t all be winners), Dressed to Kill (1980), Sabrina (1995), Pay It Forward (2001) and Elvis Has Left the Building (2004). There were also over two dozen TV movies between 1968’s A Case of Libel and 2009’s Mending Fences.

Meanwhile, in Her Real Life

She was born on September 30, 1931, in Kulm, North Dakota. She’s been married twice, to Gene Dickinson (hence her name change from Brown), 1953 to 1960; and composer Burt Bacharach from 1965 to 1981, with whom she had their son Lee Nikki Bacharach, born in 1966 and passed away in 2007. Over the years she had affairs with friends Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and there are rumors — never confirmed — that she had one with President John F. Kennedy as well. Angie is 89.

14. Linda Harrison

Filled with the desire to break into acting, Linda Melson Harrison (born July 26, 1945, in Berlin, Maryland) decided to enter various beauty contests (and won them). 20th Century Fox signed her to what was considered a standard 60-day option to see if they could find something for her. While she was there, she and then Vice President in Charge of Production Richard Zanuck fell madly in love and would marry in 1969. In between, Zanuck “suggested” her to director Franklin J. Schaffner for the new Charlton Heston film, Planet of the Apes.

Going Super ‘Nova’

Planet of the Apes — talking, intelligent apes, mute humans, Statue of Liberty at the end, etc. — was an unexpected hit in 1968 that spawned four sequels, a Tim Burton 2001 remake, and a trilogy of films beginning with 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. In that original film, as well as its 1970 follow-up Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Linda played the mute human Nova, who becomes the love interest of Charlton Heston’s 20th Century astronaut George Taylor. After those films, she was a star on 1969 to 1970’s Bracken’s World, guested on a few others, and appeared in the films Airport 1975 (released a year earlier), Cocoon (1985), Cocoon: The Return (1988), Wild Bill (1995), had a cameo in Burton’s Apes film and Midnight Massacre (2020). She and Zanuck divorced in 1978 and she’s the mother of two children. Linda is 75.

15. Ali MacGraw

Ali MacGraw had a pretty impressive introduction to movie audiences, beginning in 1968 with A Lovely Way to Die and, more importantly, for Goodbye, Columbus (1969), for which she won the Golden Globe in the category of Most Promising Newcomer — Female. Then, in 1970, she starred with Ryan O’Neal in the ultimate of movie tearjerkers, Love Story. After that? Co-starring (and falling in love) with Steve McQueen in The Getaway (1972), followed by films like Convoy (1978), Murder Elite (1985), and Glam (1997). Her credits include the massive hit miniseries The Winds of War (1983) and 14 episodes of Dynasty (which she admitted she did for the money).

Her Off-Screen Life

Ali also appeared on Broadway in Festen (The Celebration) and reunited with Ryan O’Neal in Love Letters, but didn’t really stay with acting beyond the above. She has been involved with animal activism over the years and has been married three times, to Robin Hoen from 1961 to 1962, producer Robert Evans from 1969 to 1972 and Steve McQueen from 1973 to 1978. She has one son, Josh Evans. In her autobiography Moving Pictures, she admits that she has dealt with both alcoholism and sex addiction. Ali, who was born Elizabeth Alice MacGraw on April 1, 1939, is 81.

16. Mary Tyler Moore (1936-2017)

She could turn the world on with her smile, but that wouldn’t be until the 1970s! When she was 17, Mary Tyler Moore decided that she wanted to be a dancer, which would lead her to shoot 39 television commercials as “Happy Hotpoint,” a tiny elf who would dance on the top of appliances made by Hotpoint. That gig came to a close when she became pregnant and outgrew her costume. Some modeling followed, and then her legs and voice — but that was it — made their way into seven episodes of Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1959). She did score a number of other TV guest spots before Carl Reiner cast her in The Dick Van Dyke Show.

‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’

From 1961 to 1966, America was in love with The Dick Van Dyke Show, and especially Mary and Dick as Laura and Rob Petrie. Winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series drove home the impact she’d made. When the show ended, she would star in the films Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), What So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968), Don’t Just Stand There! (1968) and, as a nun in what is considered one of the worst Elvis movies, Change of Habit (1969). In 1970, however, she would take the next major step in her career.

The MTM Years

The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970 to 1977) was viewed as the next major step forward for women on television, and it offered up a show that was an instant classic thanks to its writing and the ensemble that Mary had surrounded herself with. The show also took home an amazing 29 Emmy Awards. Besides many appearances on other shows, Mary would star in Mary (1978), The Mary Tyler Moore Hour (1979), another series named Mary (1985 to 1986), Annie McGuire (1988), New York News (1995), and The Naked Truth (1997). There would be many TV and theatrical films that allowed her to brace more dramatic roles (check out 1980’s Ordinary People). She starred in several Broadway shows, including Whose Life Is it Anyway.

Personal Struggles

Mary was married three times, to Dick Meeker from 1955 to 1961, Grant Tinker from 1962 to 1981, and Robert Levine from 1983 until her death. In 1980, her son Richard died of an accidental gunshot wound to the head and she herself suffered from alcoholism and Type 1 diabetes, which she was diagnosed with in 1969. Mary died On January 25, 2017, at the age of 80.

17. Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda credits Lee Strasberg of The Actor’s Studio — and his realization that she had genuine talent — with filling her with determination to become an actress. She started on the stage, including Broadway, but then burst onto movie screens in the 1960s and continued into the early ’70s with films like Cat Ballou (1965), Barefoot in the Park (1967), Barbarella (1968), They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969), Klute (1971) and A Doll’s House (1973). And then she risked losing it all.

‘Hanoi Jane’

In 1972, Jane, an outspoken critic of America’s war in Vietnam, had gone to Hanoi, where she was photographed sitting in a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun. The result was the nickname “Hanoi Jane’ and what has been described as blacklisting in Hollywood at the time, is difficult to see from a 2020 vantage point. She absolutely took a lot of heat for that, but the work — much of it critically acclaimed — kept on coming. The ’70s were rounded out with Julia (1977), Coming Home (1978), Comes a Horseman (1978), and The China Syndrome (1978) — and the list continues.

‘Jane Fonda’s Workout’

In addition to movies, she also became an exercise guru in the ’80s, much of the ’90s, and picked it up again in 2010 when she launched a series of videos that kicked off with 1982’s Jane Fonda’s Workout. This series was incredibly popular at the time. In more recent years, she has moved over to television in the form of The Newsroom (2012 to 2014) and her series with Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie (2015 and still going). Jane, who is 82, was married to her Barbarella director Roger Vadim from 1965 to 1973, Tom Hayden from 1973 to 1990, and Ted Turner from 1991 to 2001. Richard Perry was her partner from 2009 to 2017. She has three children.

18. Yvonne De Carlo (1922-2007)

Prior to becoming Lily Munster on The Munsters (1964 to 1966), Yvonne De Carlo enjoyed great success on the big screen in the Golden Age of Hollywood. When she was younger, she wanted to be a writer, having won a contest in school for a poem she’d written when she was seven. From there, she used to write her own short plays that were staged in her grandparents’ house. It was actually her mother that encouraged her to get into show business and, to help this happen, enrolled her in a local dance school and then the two of them moved to Los Angeles. There, Yvonne would dance in nightclubs and enter beauty contests. Well, it worked and by the early 1940s, she was working on short films and then movies — helped by her looks, which were considered exotic.

The Road to Mockingbird Lane

The first role where Yvonne caught people’s attention was the title character in Salome, Where She Danced (1945), followed by films like Slave Girl (1947), Hurricane Smith (1952), Fort Algiers (1953), Flame of the Islands (1956) and, significantly, as Sephora in Cecil B. Demille’s The Ten Commandments (1956). All told, she appeared in 60 movies between 1941’s Harvard, Here I Come, and 1964’s A Global Affair. Many of these films seemed to elevate her in Hollywood, but somehow it didn’t last and by the mid-1960s she was in need of something more steady financially, which is the point that The Munsters entered her life.

Moving On

Following The Munsters, typecasting made it difficult for Yvonne to get cast in other shows beyond guest star appearances, and film roles that were followed were fairly minor. She did, however, really embrace stage work, particularly musicals. Enjoying the new generation of fans who grew up watching reruns of The Munsters, she wrote her autobiography, which was published in 1987. Married to Robert Drew Morgan from 1955 to 1973, she had two children. Yvonne died of heart failure on January 8, 2007, at age 84. Interestingly, she was given a pair of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for her contribution to television and the other for motion pictures.

19. Daniela Bianchi

“Bond Girl” No. 2 was Daniela Bianchi, who starred with Sean Connery in the second Bond film, From Russia With Love (1963) as Tatiana Romanova. She was born on January 31, 1942, in Rome. Her voice dubbed in the 007 film due to her accent, she mostly starred in French and Italian films throughout the rest of the 1960s. She retired from acting in 1970 when she married Alberto Cameli, who died in 2018. Daniela is 78.

20. Donna Douglas (1932-2015)

Fans of Classic TV know and love her as Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962 to 1971). Donna Douglas, who was born Doris Ione Smith on September 26, 1932, in Pride Louisiana, guested in many TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s (including the classic “Eye of the Beholder” episode of The Twilight Zone). Film credits include Li’l Abner (1959), Lover Come Back (1961), and Frankie and Johnny (1966). Her last film role was in Chronicles of Life Trials (2013). After The Beverly Hillbillies, she dabbled in real estate, became a gospel singer, did charitable work for Christian children’s homes, recorded a few albums, and authored a children’s book. Married twice, she had one child. Donna died from pancreatic cancer on January 1, 2015 at age 82.

21. Patty Duke (1946-2016)

When she was only 15, Anna Marie “Patty” Duke (born December 14, 1946, in New York City) won the Academy Award for her portrayal of Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), a role she’d originated on Broadway. The following year, Sidney Sheldon (who would go on to create I Dream of Jeannie in 1965) created the concept for The Patty Duke Show, in which the actress would play identical cousins whose personalities couldn’t have been more different — a concept inspired by his noticing she seemed to have two personalities. Unfortunately neither he, Patty, or anyone else could possibly know that she was actually suffering from bipolar disorder. It’s something that would haunt her for most of her life.

Entering the ‘Valley of the Dolls’

The Patty Duke Show ended its run in 1966, and in response she turned back to movies, beginning with Valley of the Dolls, an over-the-top adaptation of Jacqueline Susanne’s novel. She was Neely O’Hara, a singer addicted to alcohol and drugs. While the film earned money, Patty didn’t get the greatest of reviews, largely because of her previous image and what she was trying to do here. Moving back to television, she started making TV movies, which garnered her three Emmy Awards. As was the case with so many of the actresses on this list, TV movies became a way of life as she starred in dozens of them. Additional series were It Takes Two (1982 to 1983), Hail to the Chief (1985), and Karen’s Song (1987). Patty was married four times, including to The Addams Family star John Astin.  She had three sons, two of which (Sean and Mackenzie Astin) are actors. She died March 29, 2016, of sepsis from a ruptured intestine. She was 69.