This glamorous sultry AngloAustrian leading lady and model was born Dorothy Lane Bolton in Vienna to British oil company executive John Bolton and Russianborn pianist Olga Mironova Mara studied dance with the Viennese ballet before her family took her to America travelling via Denmark She had a sister Jocelyn Lane aka Jackie who was eventually to follow in her older siblings footsteps to become a successful cover model and starlet in her own right Mara was educated in New York and later attended the Centre de services scolaire MargueriteBourgeoys in the Saint Laurent borough of Montreal While only in her teens she began working parttime as a model for teenage fashion magazines Aged 18 she moved to London to study costume design Talentscouted in a restaurant with some modelling experience already under her belt Mara appeared two years later in her first motion picture the independentlyproduced postwar drama Hell Is Sold Out 1951 At this time she was touted in the press as the British Marilyn Monroe though she might have been more accurately described as an Elizabeth Taylorlookalike Mara herself disliked being compared to other actresses calling it a disadvantage Nonetheless she followed the advice of studio bosses to get around and be seen As the cameras adored her celebrity status quickly followed if not on the silver screen then on the cover of glossy magazines Mara had several undemanding supporting roles in British films before being signed by Howard Hughes for a small part in his RKO comedy Susan Slept Here 1954 starring Dick Powell and Debbie Reynolds Thereafter having spurned further offers from Hollywood she forged a minor but ultimately desultory career as star of European Bgrade movies ranging from spy thrillers Uomini ombra 1954 to films noir cast as a femme fatale in Angela 1954 costarring opposite Dennis OKeefe and from romantic period comedy Le avventure di Giacomo Casanova 1955 to peplum Anno 79 La distruzione di Ercolano 1962 She made several films in Germany arguably her best being the melancholic love story Monpti 1957 filmed on location in Paris with Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz early in their careers In 1961 Mara married San Antonio oil executive William Lafayette Dugger Jr but divorced him after just three years Dugger was later briefly engaged to Hollywood star Lizabeth Scott He died unexpectedly in 1969 Mara left show business in 1964 and disappeared from the limelight having always craved privacy in her personal life She died in relative obscurity in Marbella Spain in 2014
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