Sandra Dee

Dee married her ‘Come September’ co-star Bobby Darin in 1960. The following year, on 16th December she delivered their son, Dodd Mitchell Darin. However, trouble began six years after their marriage.

By 1967, the couple divorced and Bobby remarried the next year. Their separation left Sandra depressed, and with the death of Bobby Darin in 1973, she could hardly focus on her career.

After suffering from major complications from an existing kidney disease, she passed away at the age of 62 on 20th February 2005. She is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery at Hollywood Hills.

Sandra was born Alexandra Zuck in 1942 at Bayonne, New Jersey, to Mary and John Zuck. Her parents divorced when she was a child; she lived with her mother and was brought up in Russian Orthodox faith.

Since she had stunning looks, she began modelling at the age of four and appeared in commercials for big brands such a Coca-Cola. Her mother remarried while she was still young. Unfortunately, Sandra was sexually abused by her stepfather in childhood.

She attended Hollywood Professional School while juggling her career and ended up graduating from ‘University High School’ in Los Angeles.

By twelve, she was an established model. Ross Hunter, an actor and producer, spotted her along with her mother at Park Avenue. Offers came rolling in soon after and she became one of the top teen models of America.

With time she became more conscious of her appearance and in order to align with the stereotypical ways of models, she began slimming down. She would almost starve herself, which led to several skin, hair and nail related problems.

Having lost weight, her body couldn’t digest the food she consumed. Hence, she was put on medication. This episode ushered in an immutable eating disorder, Anorexia Nervosa.

However, despite her bad health she managed to earn around seventy five thousand dollars annually as a model and continued to support her mother.

In order to pursue a career in films, she moved from New York to Hollywood in 1957. She landed her first role as a voice actor in the animated film ‘The Snow Queen’ voicing the character ‘Gerda’ in the English version of the movie.

In 1957, she also starred in her first motion picture ‘Until they Sail’ alongside Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine and Paul Newman. In 1958, she played the 17 year old Jane Broadbent in the comedy film ‘The Reluctant Debutante’.

Sandra joined the league top of the Hollywood fraternity actors in a few years. In the movie ‘The Restless Years’, she played the lead role of Melinda Grant opposite John Saxon.

In 1959, she was cast as Pat Beasley in the drama film ‘A Stranger in My Arms’ alongside June Allyson and Jeff Chandler. The same year, she put up stellar performances as young Susie in ‘Imitation of Life’, Frances Lawrence in ‘Gidget’ and Rosalie Stocker in ‘The Wild and the Innocent’.

She also starred in the films ‘A Summer Place’, ‘Portrait in Black’ and ‘Romanoff and Juliet’. In 1961, she was signed for Harry Keller’s ‘Tammy Tell Me True’ opposite John Gavin, and in Robert Mulligan’s romantic comedy ‘Come September’.