Befitting her original name (Violet Pretty), the knockout English
brunette Anne Heywood won the coveted "Miss Great Britain" beauty title
in 1950 at the young age of 17. Born on December 11, 1931, the daughter
of a violinist, she originally trained at the London Academy of Music
and Dramatic Art. She gained early experience on the stage with the
Highbury Players in Birmingham and moved on to some TV work. The Rank
Organization caught sight of her and offered the former beauty queen a
seven-year contract. During that time, however, she was pretty much
relegated to playing 'nice girl' types in the 50s and 60s.
In later career, her film appearances courted controversy and she
seemed drawn toward highly troubled, flawed characters. Very popular
with Italian audiences, Anne never endeared herself to American
film goers although she did stir up some curiosity with one of her more
noteworthy films, the pioneer lesbian drama
The Fox (1967). Starring Anne with
Sandy Dennis, the two were quite
believable as an unhappy, isolated couple whose relationship is
irreparably shattered by the appearance of a handsome stranger
(
Keir Dullea). At the height of the movie's
publicity, Playboy magazine revealed a "pictorial essay" just prior to
its 1967 release with Anne in a nude and auto-erotic spread. The film
won a "Best Foreign Film" Golden Globe Award (it was made in Canada)
and Anne herself earned a "Best Actress" nod.
Despite being aggressively promoted in its aftermath by
husband/producer
Raymond Stross, who was
instrumental in reshaping her image with such sexy, offbeat dramas as
The Night Fighters (1960),
The Very Edge (1963),
90 Degrees in the Shade (1965),
Midas Run (1969),
I Want What I Want (1972) and
Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff (1979),
Anne has remained a distinct European film product. She last appeared on TV in
The Equalizer (1985) series. Following her
husband's death in 1988, Anne remarried (to a former New York Assistant
Attorney General) and begged away from the camera. The couple settled
in Beverly Hills.
The Equalizer: The Mystery of Manon(1988)as Manon
Ohara(1987)as Violet Kane
The Equalizer(1985)as Manon Brevard Marcel
What Waits Below(1984)as Frieda Shelley
Sadat(1983)as Mrs. Raouf
Midas Run(1969)
The Fox(1967)
The Heart of a Man(1959)
Film Night(1968)as Self
The Dick Cavett Show(1968)as Self - actress
Late Night Line-Up(1964)as Self
Juke Box Jury(1959)as Self - Panellist
Disclosure(2020)as Roy, Wendy
The 1950's: Music, Memories & Milestones(1988)as Self
Memories of Manon(1987)as Manon Brevard Marcel
Kolossal - i magnifici Macisti(1977)as Virginia de Leyva
