Sigrid Valdis

Sigrid Valdis was born as Patricia Annette Olson on September 21, 1935 in Bakersfield, California, USA. Raised in Brentwood/ Westwood suburbs of Los Angeles, she attended several private schools, including the Marymount High School. Upon graduation, Valdis moved to Europe and then to New York City. While working as a designer's runway model, she married a businessman in the fashion industry, George Gilbert Ateyeh. After the birth of their first baby, Melissa, Valdis started attending Stella Adler's Theatre School.

Ateyeh died in 1967 and Valdis went on to marry actor Bob Crane. Following the birth of the couple’s son Scott in 1971, the actress retired from acting. Crane was murdered in 1978, following which Valdis moved from the Los Angeles area.

On October 14, 2007, Valdis died in Anaheim, California after suffering from lung cancer. She was survived by two daughters, Melissa and Ana Sarmiento, her son, Scott as well as her sister Dale, brother-in-law Eric, granddaughter Robbyn Smith and four grandsons. Valdis also had three stepchildren from Bob Crane's previous marriage to Anne Terzian: Deborah, Karen, and Robert David Crane.

Sigrid Valdis first appeared in a minor role in the 1962 flick ‘Two Tickets to Paris’. She then guest-starred in an episode of ‘Kraft Suspense Theatre’. In 1965, she got featured as Kitty in the movie ‘Marriage on the Rocks’. The same year, she guest-starred in the series ‘The Wild Wild West’.

From 1966 to 1971, the American actress played the role of Hilda in the series ‘Hogan's Heroes’. During this time, she also acted in the films ‘Our Man Flint’ and ‘The Venetian Affair’. Valdis also performed on the stage, most notably in 1968 when she toured with her second husband Bob Crane for the Broadway play ‘Cactus Flower’. In 1998, the beautiful actress joined the cast of her son's weekly sketch comedy radio show titled ‘Shaken, Not Stirred’.