Sabrina (actress)

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Sabrina (born May 19, 1936 in Stockport , Cheshire ; as Norma Ann Sykes ; † November 24, 2016 in Los Angeles ) was a British actress and sex symbol . The platinum blonde Sabrina became famous above all for her impressive figure with the dimensions 104-55-91.

Life

After a quiet childhood, Sykes moved to London in 1953 at the age of 16 , where she worked as a photo model for pin-up and nude photography. The TV producer Bill Ward was looking for a pretty young woman to work as an assistant for Arthur Askey's TV show Before Your Very Eyes around this time . He discovered several photographs of Sykes and selected them from among 23 other applicants for the role. She took over the stage name Sabrina and suddenly became famous as a "stupid blonde" at Askey's side. Sabrina appeared on the covers of numerous photo and glossy magazines such as Picture Post , the highest-circulation magazine of its kind at the time, and became a popular media star. She worked in various TV productions and from 1955 also took on film roles. She was also in demand as a show and revue star . At this time the first articles and photo series appeared in the USA, the press celebrated as the new "sex sensation" from England. A few single releases such as Persuade Me , which she recorded with Tony Osborne & His Orchestra in 1957, prove that Sabrina also had a good singing voice.

Identified as a sex bomb by the UK rainbow press , she was traded as a rival to Diana Dors , but never achieved their popularity .

When her fame in England seemed to fade, she went on a singing tour of the United States and had various romantic relationships with Sean Connery , Frank Sinatra and Johnnie Ray, among others . Her last major film role was in the horror film The Ice House in 1969 . Here she was cast as a replacement for Jayne Mansfield , who died in 1967 , when her British counterpart Sabrina was long considered. In 1967 she married Dr. Harold Melsheimer, a Los Angeles- based cosmetic surgeon . The marriage lasted ten years. Sabrina last lived in Hollywood .

Filmography (selection)

  • 1955: Stock Car
  • 1956: Ramsbottom Rides Again
  • 1957: A Sparrow in the Hand (Just My Luck)
  • 1959: Make Mine a Million
  • 1962: Satan in high heels
  • 1969: The Ice House

Trivia

  • Sabrina had her breast insured for £ 125,000 in 1957.
  • Due to Sabrina's popularity in England, the 1954 Audrey Hepburn film Sabrina was renamed Sabrina Fair there .
  • She was the namesake of the Sabrina Bumpers .
  • Nicknames: "The British Bosom", "Britain's Jayne Mansfield", "Britain's finest hourglass", "England's Maid of the Mountains" or "The Juliet with the Built-in Balcony"

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tragic final years of 'Britain's Marilyn Monroe': How 1950s glamor girl Sabrina died a poverty-stricken paraplegic recluse in LA after botched back surgery destroyed her life , Daily Mail , accessed October 11, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Sabrina
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sykes, Norma Ann (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actress and sex symbol
DATE OF BIRTH May 19, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Stockport , Cheshire
DATE OF DEATH November 24, 2016
Place of death los Angeles