Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Zuck; April 23, 1942 – February 20, 2005) was an American actress who emerged during the tail end of The Golden Age of Hollywood in The '50s. She was marketed as a teenage star, typically playing The Ingenue.
She was a child model, appearing in TV commercials from as young as four. She retired from modeling in 1957 and moved to Hollywood, debuting in Until They Sail, marketed as the new Shirley Temple. She had numerous successes around many Hollywood film studios, constantly appearing alongside John Saxon. One of her most well-known movies was Gidget, as well as its sequels.
However, her career wouldn't survive The '60s, blamed on her marriage to Bobby Darin, which was publicised throughout the media and even more after their divorce. Dee herself blamed much of it on Contractual Purity and being shamed for acting like other Hollywood socialities. She took the odd acting appearance on television and B-Movies throughout the 1970s and '80s, but her health declined because of her heavy smoking and years of anorexia, dating back to her modelling days, and she died from kidney failure.
Dee would mostly be known nowadays by being namedropped in the song "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" from the musical Grease.
Tropes Associated With Sandra Dee:
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Famous for her short blonde hairstyles and friendly, Girl Next Door roles.
- Ms. Fanservice: She rocked a lot of swimsuits in her films. She was as much of a fanservice actor as one could be as a teen actor during the 50s and 60s.
- Nice Girl: Almost always played sweet, down-to-earth girls.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Described this way in the opening theme for Gidget.
Sandra Dee on TV Tropes:
- The Snow Queen (1957)(1959 English dub): Gerda
- Gidget (1959): Gidget (Frances Lawrence)
- Imitation of Life (1959): Susie, age 16
- If a Man Answers (1962): Chantal Stacy
- The Dunwich Horror (1970): Nancy Wagner
- Night Gallery (1971-1972): Ann Bolt (episode "Tell David"); Millicent / Marion Hardy (episode "Spectre in Tap-Shoes")
- Love, American Style (1972): Joan / Bonnie Galloway (episode "Love and the Sensuous Twin")
- Fantasy Island (1977-1983): Francesca Hamilton (Pilot Episode); Margaret Winslow (episode "Eternal Flame/A Date with Burt")
- Police Woman (1978): Marie Quinn (episode "Blind Terror")
- Frasier (1994): Connie (voice) (episode "The Botched Language of Cranes")
