Yvette Carmen Mimieux (born January 8, 1942 (some sources state 1939) is a now-retired American movie and television actress. She was born in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
to a
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
father and
MexicanThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
mother, Carmen Montemayor.
In 1960, Mimieux appeared in the teen movie
Where The Boys AreWhere the Boys Are is a American coming-of-age comedy film, written by George Wells based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout, about four Midwestern college co-eds who spend spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The title song "Where the Boys Are" was sung by Connie Francis, who also co-starred...
as well as
George PálGeorge Pal , born György Pál Marczincsák, was a Hungarian-born American animator and film producer, principally associated with the science fiction genre. He became an American citizen after emigrating from Europe....
's 1960 film version of H.G. Wells' classic 1895 novel,
The Time MachineThe Time Machine is a 1960 science fiction film based on H. G. Wells's 1895 novel of the same name about a man from Victorian England who constructs a time travelling machine and uses it to travel to the future. It starred Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux...
in 1960, playing the character 'Weena', co-starring
Rod TaylorRodney Sturt "Rod" Taylor is an Australian-born actor.-Life and career:Born in Lidcombe, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, Taylor was the only child of William Sturt Taylor, a steel construction contractor and commercial artist, and the former Mona Thompson, a writer of plays and children's books...
.
Yvette Carmen Mimieux (born January 8, 1942 (some sources state 1939) is a now-retired American movie and television actress. She was born in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
to a
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
father and
MexicanThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
mother, Carmen Montemayor.
Career
In 1960, Mimieux appeared in the teen movie
Where The Boys AreWhere the Boys Are is a American coming-of-age comedy film, written by George Wells based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout, about four Midwestern college co-eds who spend spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The title song "Where the Boys Are" was sung by Connie Francis, who also co-starred...
as well as
George PálGeorge Pal , born György Pál Marczincsák, was a Hungarian-born American animator and film producer, principally associated with the science fiction genre. He became an American citizen after emigrating from Europe....
's 1960 film version of H.G. Wells' classic 1895 novel,
The Time MachineThe Time Machine is a 1960 science fiction film based on H. G. Wells's 1895 novel of the same name about a man from Victorian England who constructs a time travelling machine and uses it to travel to the future. It starred Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux...
in 1960, playing the character 'Weena', co-starring
Rod TaylorRodney Sturt "Rod" Taylor is an Australian-born actor.-Life and career:Born in Lidcombe, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, Taylor was the only child of William Sturt Taylor, a steel construction contractor and commercial artist, and the former Mona Thompson, a writer of plays and children's books...
. This was followed by
The Light in the PiazzaThe Light in the Piazza is a musical with a book by Craig Lucas and music and lyrics by Adam Guettel. Based on a novella by Elizabeth Spencer, it is set in Florence and Rome in the summer of 1953. A young American tourist, Clara Johnson, meets and falls for young Italian Fabrizio Naccarelli...
(1962) with
Olivia de HavillandOlivia Mary de Havilland is an actress. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. De Havilland is one of the last surviving female stars from 1930s Hollywood. She is also the last living lead from Gone with the Wind....
. In 1963, Mimieux appeared in
Diamond HeadDiamond Head is a movie starring Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, George Chakiris, and James Darren, directed by Guy Green, and released by Columbia Pictures. The original music score was composed by John Williams, Hugo Winterhalter composed the theme, and Darren sang the title song...
and
Toys in the AtticToys in the Attic is a 1963 film starring Dean Martin, Geraldine Page, Yvette Mimieux, Gene Tierney and Wendy Hiller. The film was directed by George Roy Hill and is based on a Tony Award-winning play by Lillian Hellman...
.
Many of the films in which she appeared after 1963 were both critical and commercial failures. She appeared in a 1964 episode of
Dr. KildareDr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show...
entitled "Tyger Tyger". She later appeared in numerous television series and made-for-television movies, one of which is
The Legend of Valentino (1975), where she played
Rudolph ValentinoRudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, sex symbol, and early pop icon. Known as the "Latin Lover", he was one of the most popular stars of the 1920s, and one of the most recognized stars from the silent film era. He is best known for his work in The Sheik and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse...
's second wife
Natacha RambovaNatacha Rambova was an American silent film costume and set designer, artistic director, screenwriter, producer and occasional actress. Most of her best known work was with silent film actress Alla Nazimova. Later in life she worked as a mildly successful fashion designer and Egyptologist...
.
Mimieux staged a brief comeback in the 1976 film
Jackson County Jail, as a falsely imprisoned woman victimized by a sadistic guard and featuring a graphic nude rape scene. The movie eventually became a minor cult hit which spawned many imitators in the "women in prison" genre.
In later life, Mimieux co-starred in the first PG-rated Walt Disney Productions feature,
The Black HoleThe Black Hole is a 1979 science fiction movie directed by Gary Nelson for Walt Disney Productions. It stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, and Ernest Borgnine. The voices of the main robot characters in the film are provided by Roddy McDowall...
. In 1984, she starred in
Obsessive Love, a
television movieA television movie is a feature film that is produced for and originally distributed by a...
about a female
stalkerStalking is a term used to describe unwanted attention by individuals to others. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation. The word "stalking" is used, with some differing meanings, in psychology and psychiatry and also in some legal jurisdictions as a term for a criminal...
, which she co-wrote and co-produced. Her last film, in 1992, was
Lady Boss. In one of her few forays into television, Yvette played Department store executive, Shane Bradley, on the short-lived drama,
Berrenger'sBerrenger's is an American primetime television soap opera created by Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick that aired on NBC in 1985. The series revolved around the Berrenger family, a New York dynasty which owned the glamorous department store which bore their name.Following in the tradition of...
. Her character was romantically linked with the heir to the Berrenger store empire, Paul Berrenger (
Ben MurphyBenjamin E. Murphy is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the ABC television series Alias Smith and Jones, co-starring as Kid Curry, first with Pete Duel and later with Roger Davis....
).
Personal life
Aside from her acting career, she is also an
anthropologistAnthropology is the study of human beings, everywhere and throughout time....
and a
real estateReal estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, specifically property that is fixed in location.
"Real estate" The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin...
investor. She was married to film director
Stanley DonenStanley Donen is an American film director and choreographer hailed by David Quinlan as "the King of the Hollywood musicals". His most famous work is Singin' in the Rain, which he co-directed with Gene Kelly.- Early life :...
from 1972 until their divorce in 1982. Yvette is currently married to Howard Ruby (1986 – present), a founding partner and current Chairman of R & B Enterprises (now known as Oakwood Worldwide). She has no children.
Partial filmography
- Platinum High School, aka Young and Deadly (1960)
- The Time Machine
The Time Machine is a 1960 science fiction film based on H. G. Wells's 1895 novel of the same name about a man from Victorian England who constructs a time travelling machine and uses it to travel to the future. It starred Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux...
(1960)
- Where the Boys Are
Where the Boys Are is a American coming-of-age comedy film, written by George Wells based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout, about four Midwestern college co-eds who spend spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The title song "Where the Boys Are" was sung by Connie Francis, who also co-starred...
(1960)
- The Light in the Piazza
The Light in the Piazza is a 1960 novella by Mississippi writer Elizabeth Spencer.At its core are Margaret Johnson and her daughter Clara, on vacation in Italy, where Clara becomes enamored with local Florentine Fabrizio...
(1962)
- Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962)
- The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm is a Cinerama film directed by Henry Levin. George Pál was the producer and was also in charge of the stop motion animation. The film was one of the highest grossing movies of 1962. It won one Oscar and was nominated for three additional Academy Awards...
(1962)
- Diamond Head
Diamond Head is a movie starring Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, George Chakiris, and James Darren, directed by Guy Green, and released by Columbia Pictures. The original music score was composed by John Williams, Hugo Winterhalter composed the theme, and Darren sang the title song...
(1963)
- Toys in the Attic (1963)
- Looking for Love (1964)
- Joy in the Morning
'Joy in the Morning' may refer to:* Joy in the Morning , a Jeeves novel by P. G. Wodehouse, published in 1946.* Joy in the Morning , a novel by Betty Smith, published in 1963....
(1965)
- The Reward (1965)
- Monkeys, Go Home! (1967)
- The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1967)
- Dark of the Sun
Dark of the Sun is a 1968 adventure film starring Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Brown and Peter Carsten and adapted from Wilbur Smith's 1965 novel, The Dark of the Sun...
, also known as The Mercenaries (1968)
- Three in the Attic
Three in the Attic is a 1968 movie, starring Christopher Jones and Yvette Mimieux, with Judy Pace and Maggie Thrett. Nan Martin and John Beck appear in supporting roles.-Premise:...
(1968)
- The Picasso Summer (1969)
- The Delta Factor (1970)
- Death Takes A Holiday (1971) TV movie
- Skyjacked (1972)
- The Neptune Factor (1973)
- Journey Into Fear
Journey into Fear is a 1975 Canadian thriller film directed by Daniel Mann, and based on the novel Journey into Fear by Eric Ambler. It starred Sam Waterston, Zero Mostel, Yvette Mimieux, Vincent Price, Donald Pleasance, Shelley Winters, Stanley Holloway and Ian McShane....
(1975)
- Jackson County Jail (1976)
- The Black Hole
The Black Hole is a 1979 science fiction movie directed by Gary Nelson for Walt Disney Productions. It stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, and Ernest Borgnine. The voices of the main robot characters in the film are provided by Roddy McDowall...
(1979)
- Circle of Power
Circle of Power, a 1983 film, co-produced by Gary Mehlman, Anthony Quinn and Jeffrey White, was based on the book The Pit: A Group Encounter Defiled...
(1983)
- Obsessive Love
-Definition:Moore, Forward and Buck believe that rejection is the trigger of obsessive love - also known as love addiction or relationship addiction....
(1984)
- Lady Boss
Lady Boss is a 1990 novel written by Jackie Collins and is the third in The Santangelo Novels series.The novel was adapted as a TV movie miniseries in 1992, starring Kim Delaney in the title role.Plot....
(1992)
External links