Stella Stevens in 2012.Photo: Tommaso Boddi/WireImage
Stella Stevens, aGolden Globe-winning actress and ’60s Hollywood bombshell, has died at the age of 84.
Multiple outlets, includingVarietyand Deadline, firstreported Stevens' deathon Friday, with the former attributing the news to her son Andrew Stevens and the latter to both Andrew and a longtime friend of the actress, John O’Brien.
Both publications reported thatStevens died in Los Angeles on Friday, following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Green Life Mediafounder Maria Calabrese, Stevens' manager and friend, confirms the actress’s death to PEOPLE and says in a statement, “It was an honor and a privilege to have worked with Stella, who was one of the most wonderful and gifted people I have ever worked with.”
“She was an amazing animal lover, horse wrangler, rock-and-roller, so ahead of her time and so much more than a sex symbol — which her adoring fans admired, respected and understood,” adds Calabrese. “What a tremendous body of work and loss. The O.G. of badass women.”
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Jerry Lewis and Stella Stevens inThe Nutty Professor(1963).Everett
She would go on to appear in dozens of films, including 1972’sThe Poseidon Adventureand 1975’sCleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, as well as television series likeBonanza, The Love Boat, Hart to Hart, Fantasy Island,Night Courtand many more.
Elvis Presley and Stella Stevens inGirls! Girls! Girls!(1962).Everett
Stevens modeled forPlayboymultiple times and wasfeatured as the magazine’s Playmate of the Monthin January 1960 before appearing in two more issues later that decade. She also came in at No. 27 on the magazine’s list of the 100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th Century, perVariety.
The actresshas been quoted as once saying, “It’s been my heart’s desire to direct since I started doing movies. I directed two films in the ’70s and ’80s (1979’sThe American Heroineand 1989’sThe Ranch). One was a feature-length documentary. But I’ve still not made my debut with a big film.”
“So why has it taken me so long? Because it was hard as a ‘sexpot,’ as I was labeled in the ’60s and ’70s, to have people take me seriously as a producer or director,” added Stevens, whowon a Golden Globe for new star of the yearin 1960. “They would rather see me without my clothes on.”
Stella Stevens circa 1965.Silver Screen Collection/Getty
In her statement to PEOPLE, Calabrese adds, “While I truly wish I could have done more for her toward the latter years of her career, I shared in her frustration, as she so wanted to make the leap from a triple-threat American icon to producer. Her wish, never realized, was to have three original Western scripts produced.”
But despite not hitting every career goal she had, Stevens once said, “Idid the best I could with the tools I hadand the opportunities given me,” according to Deadline.
source: people.com
