Yvette Mimieux
| Yvette Mimieux | |
|---|---|
| Born | Yvette Carmen Mimieux January 8, 1942 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1956–92 |
| Spouse | Howard F. Ruby (1986–present) Stanley Donen (1972–1985) (divorced) |
Yvette Carmen Mimieux (born January 8, 1942)[1] is a retired American movie and television actress.
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[edit] Early life and career
Yvette Mimieux was born in Los Angeles, California, to a French father and Mexican mother, Carmen Montemayor. Before her film career began, Mimieux was one of four finalists from a beauty contest picked by Elvis Presley (while he was filming "Jailhouse Rock") and invited to come to the set and compete for a bit role in the movie ("girl in bathing suit"). She and the other girls modeled their suits (and figures), but Mimieux wasn't picked. In 1960, she appeared in the teen movie Where the Boys Are as well as George Pal's 1960 film version of H.G. Wells's classic 1895 novel The Time Machine co-starring Rod Taylor, wherein she played the character "Weena." This was followed by The Light in the Piazza (1962) with Olivia de Havilland. In 1963, Mimieux appeared in Diamond Head and Toys in the Attic.
Many of the films in which she appeared after 1963 were both critical and commercial failures. She appeared in a 1964 episode of Dr. Kildare entitled "Tyger Tyger." She later appeared in numerous television series and made-for-television movies, one of which is The Legend of Valentino (1975), wherein she played Rudolph Valentino's second wife, Natacha Rambova. Of note, Mimieux was originally cast to play the role of Carole in Disney's "The Love Bug" and is shown on the initial prototype poster art along with a white-striped red Herbie.
Mimieux staged a brief comeback in the 1976 film Jackson County Jail, as a falsely imprisoned woman victimized by a sadistic guard. The film features a graphic rape scene. The movie eventually became a minor cult hit that spawned many imitators in the "women in prison" genre.
Later in 1979, Mimieux co-starred in the first PG-rated Walt Disney Productions feature, The Black Hole. In 1984, she starred in Obsessive Love, a television movie about a female stalker that she co-wrote and co-produced. Her last film was Lady Boss (1992). In one of her few forays into television, Yvette played Department store executive Shane Bradley on the short-lived drama Berrenger's. Her character was romantically linked with the heir to the Berrenger store empire, Paul Berrenger (Ben Murphy).
She hasn't acted or appeared in films since the 1990s.
[edit] Personal life
Aside from her acting career, Mimieux is also an anthropologist and a real estate investor. She was married to film director Stanley Donen from 1972 until their divorce in 1985.[2] In 1986 Mimieux married Howard F. Ruby, chairman and founder of Oakwood Worldwide.[3] She has no children.
[edit] Partial filmography
- Rock, Rock, Rock (1956)
- Yancy Derringer (1959) TV series
- Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond (1960) TV series, episode "The Clown"
- Mr. Lucky (1960) TV series
- Platinum High School, aka Young and Deadly (1960)
- The Time Machine (1960)
- Where the Boys Are (1960)
- The Light in the Piazza (1962)
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962)
- The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)
- Diamond Head (1963)
- Toys in the Attic (1963)
- Looking for Love (1964)
- Dr. Kildare (1964) TV series
- Joy in the Morning (1965)
- The Reward (1965)
- Monkeys, Go Home! (1967)
- The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1967)
- Dark of the Sun, also known as The Mercenaries (1968)
- Three in the Attic (1968)
- The Picasso Summer (1969)
- The Delta Factor (1970)
- The Most Deadly Game (1970) TV series
- Black Noon (1971) TV movie
- Death Takes a Holiday (1971) TV movie
- Skyjacked (1972)
- The Neptune Factor (1973)
- Hit Lady (1974) TV movie
- Journey Into Fear (1975)
- The Legend of Valentino (1975) TV movie
- Jackson County Jail (1976)
- Bell, Book and Candle (1976) TV movie
- Snowbeast (1977) TV movie
- Ransom for Alice! (1977) TV movie
- Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978) TV movie
- Outside Chance (1978) TV movie
- The Black Hole (1979)
- Disaster on the Coastliner (1979) TV movie
- Circle of Power (1981)
- Forbidden Love (1982) TV movie
- Night Partners (1983) TV movie
- The Love Boat (1984) TV series
- Obsessive Love (1984) TV movie
- Berrenger's (1985) TV series
- The Fifth Missile (1986) TV movie
- Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception (1990) TV movie
- Lady Boss (1992)
[edit] References
- ^ California Births, 1905 - 1995, Yvette Carmen Mimieux
- ^ Turner Classic Movies: Yvette Mimieux. Retrieved on September 23, 2009.
- ^ "Howard F. Ruby Biography". Oakwood Temporary Housing. http://www.oakwood.com/cms/bios-ruby.html. Retrieved May 23, 2010.

