An angelically beautiful leading lady with a demure and melancholy screen persona which reflected a deeper sadness in her real life. She was born Elizabeth Russell in Chicago, Illinois, the second child of George and Gladys (Barnet) Russell. She was painfully, almost disabling shy as a child. When she was a teenager, her family moved to Los Angeles.
Russell attended high school in Santa Monica, California, where she was spotted by a Paramount talent scout and signed to a contract immediately upon graduation. She was given considerable coaching and subsequently appeared in important roles in a number of prestigious Paramount films.
However, she suffered from an intense and almost crippling stage fright which she began to combat with alcohol. Conflicts with the law, particularly drunk driving, damaged her reputation and her star began to dim. Befriended by John Wayne, with whom she was later accused (apparently unjustly) of conducting an adulterous affair, she played a few roles in films he produced. But her drinking began to affect not only her work but her appearance and her personal life. Married in 1949 to actor Guy Madison, she was divorced by him in 1954 (though she retained as her legal name his legal name, Moseley).
In 1961, at the age of 36, she died alone in her apartment of chronic alcoholism, an extremely fatty liver and terminal aspiration of stomach contents all while surrounded by empty liquor bottles. She will be remembered, however, as an incredible doe-eyed beauty who presented a screen image of great innocence and vulnerability.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver jumblejim@prodigy.net
Spouse
Guy Madison(July 31, 1949 - October 6, 1954) (divorced)
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