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Sandra Dee: Career
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American actress Sandra Dee began her career as a model at age 12, and later moved on to TV commercials. Her film break came when producer Ross Hunter balked at Natalie Wood's lofty salary demands and decided to use a newcomer to play Lana Turner's daughter in Imitation of Life (1959). The result...Read More
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In the late '50s and early '60s, Sandra Dee became the perfect perky teenager in films crafted to spotlight her beauty and precious spunk. Her stardom was immense and she became America's iconic young lady. Unfortunately, the era of her movies languished in repetitive one-dimensional scripts and a sugary image which would make it impossible for her to maintain an A-list career and crossover to the new, permissive Hollywood in force by 1970. Among her charms, keen comic instincts.
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At the age of four Sandra Dee became a professional model as she entered the 2nd standard in her studies. Sandra started her career when she was only twelve years of age and soon became the actress of television commercials which was an added benefit for her. In 1957, Sandra got her first contract in the film “Until They Sail”.
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Sandra took her stepfather’s name and the Douvan’s relocated from Long Island to Manhattan in 1952. She was enrolled in The Professional Children’s School, a school whose flexible curriculum was conducive to child performers. Sandra’s first modeling job was for Girl Scouts Magazine, which enabled her to eventually sign with a modeling agency. At the age of 12, the actress was discovered by producer Ross Hunter. Hunter launched her movie career and persuaded Universal Studios to sign the young actress to a seven-year contract. It was during this time that Sandra Douvan adopted the stage name Sandra Dee.
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By the 1970s, the innocent teenager was no longer a popular or real reflection of American female youth, and because Sandra was typecast in such a role, her career eclipsed. In contrast, she has played more serious dramatic roles in some of her later films--"The Dunwich Horror" (1970) and "Ad est di Marsa Matruh" (Italian, 1971).
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