Actress Stella Stevens was best known for her roles in films including “The Poseidon Adventure,” “The Nutty Professor,” “The Silencers,” “Say One For Me” and the Elvis Presley film “Girls! Girls! Girls!” among others. In all, she had 142 film and TV credits to her name. Her last project has a release date of February 24, 2023.
The most recent film is called “Quakers,” and she was the voice of Nutty the Squirrel. Unfortunatly, she will never get to see the film get released.
According to Stevens’ son, Andrew Stevens, she died on Friday February 17, 2023. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “She had been in hospice for quite some time with Stage 7 Alzheimer’s.”
Stevens was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Her interest in acting and modeling began when she was attending Memphis State College. Her first role was in 1959 in the film “Say One For Me” which also stared Debbie Reynolds and Bing Crosby. She won a Golden Globe for her role in the film.
Stevens wasn’t exclusively a movie star. She also acted on TV shows including “General Electric Theater,” “Ben Casey,” “Flamingo Road,” “The Love Boat,” “Santa Barbara,” and “Strip Mall.” In addition, she appeared in “Playboy” magazine three different times.
According to Deadline, Stevens once said about her career, “I did the best I could with the tools I had and the opportunities given me. I was a divorced mom with a toddler by the time I was 17. And ‘Playboy’ did as much harm as it helped. But in spite of that rough start, I did OK.”
Stevens’ manager, Maria Calabrese, told Deadline, “It was an honor and a privilege to work with Stella, who was one of the most wonderful and gifted people I have ever worked with.” She added, “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 her for and understood. What a tremendous body of work and loss. She was the OG of strong Hollywood women.”
Learn more about Stevens’ life, career and battle with Alzheimer’s in the video below.