Hollywood is full of bright stars who only shine for a short time before fading away. Many talented actresses disappeared from the screen for reasons they could not control. Here are ten unforgettable women who made a big impact on film but never got the lasting legend status they truly deserved.
Texas Guinan Left Screens for Nightclubs
She played tough cowgirls in silent westerns like The Moonshine Feud in 1920 before becoming a famous prohibition club hostess. Most of her thirty three movies are lost today and Betty Hutton later played her in the musical Incendiary Blonde.
Joyzelle Joyner Faced Off-Screen Drama
She was famous for dancing in the 1932 blockbuster The Sign of the Cross but the censors cut her scenes later on. She survived her jealous husband shooting through her door in 1927 and eventually made the sci fi comedy Just Imagine in 1930.
Patricia Medina Was Always Typecast
She had a very long career after moving to Hollywood and met her second husband making Mr Arkadin in 1955. She always played the bad girl in period pieces because studios rarely gave her a chance to be anything else.
Martine Carol Had a Wild Real Life
She was a huge star in movies like Lola Montes in 1955 before Brigitte Bardot took over the spotlight. A famous French gangster actually kidnapped her and then let her go the next day with a bouquet of red roses to apologize.
Joi Lansing Was the Television Marilyn
She finally got noticed in the famous opening shot of Touch of Evil in 1958 after playing background roles for years. She became a huge television hit on The Beverly Hillbillies but her career ended short when she got very sick at forty three.
Vikki Dougan Inspired an Animated Icon
She wore famous backless dresses in the fifties that directly inspired the cartoon character Jessica Rabbit. She dated huge stars like Frank Sinatra and made movies like The Tunnel of Love in 1958 but stepped back after magazine photo scandals.
Allison Hayes Fought Huge Studio Battles
She is totally famous for playing the giant lady in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman in 1958. Universal fired her when she got hurt on set and she later got very sick from taking bad bone meal calcium supplements.
Mamie Van Doren Was a Rebel Blonde
She starred in Teacher’s Pet in 1958 and was close friends with Marilyn Monroe during the blonde bombshell era. She married five times and left the big studios behind to entertain troops in Vietnam and she even sells her own wine now.
Aleshia Brevard Broke Huge Boundaries Early
She transitioned in 1962 and did amazing Marilyn Monroe impressions before landing parts in movies like The Love God in 1969. She successfully lived her truth and worked as a television actress without the public knowing her birth status.
Edwige Fenech Rules Italian Cult Cinema
She made tons of thrilling mystery movies in Italy during the seventies before setting up her own production company to make The Merchant of Venice in 2004. Quentin Tarantino is a massive fan and actually got her to come back for a role in Hostel Part 2 in 2007.
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