Millie Perkins

Millie Perkins (born May 12, 1936) is an American former film and television actress known for her debut film role as Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959), and for her supporting actress roles in two 1966 Westerns, The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind, both directed by Monte Hellman. Early life and career Born on May 12, 1938, in Passaic, New Jersey, Perkins grew up in Fair Lawn and attended Fair Lawn High School. Her father was a merchant marine captain of Hungarian and Mongolian descent. Perkins was working as a receptionist at a New York City advertising agency when she caught the eye of a visiting photographer with a resultant career as a model; by 1958, Perkins was an international cover girl. Soon thereafter, Perkins was vigorously pursued, and then selected, to portray Dutch Jewish diarist and Holocaust victim Anne Frank in the 1959 film adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank. Perkins had never studied nor sought to be an actress, but director George Stevens saw her photo and tried to convince her to read for the part. Finally, she flew to Hollywood for a screen test, and with much fanfare, landed the role. Perkins received almost universally excellent reviews for her portrayal of Frank, although the film was less of a box-office success than expected. After her work with George Stevens, Perkins was placed under contract to 20th Century Fox. She was one of the promising young stars of Hollywood, but the studio contract system, which was coming to an end, was a poor fit for Perkins, who had come of age with the Beat Generation in 1950s New York City. George Stevens would later state: "Millie did not fit in. She was 10 years too early." Suspended for refusing the lead in the 1960 film Tess of the Storm Country – Perkins saw the film as a B-picture and a step back career-wise – Perkins was cast by 20th Century Fox in the 1961 film Wild in the Country, playing the supporting role of the girlfriend to star Elvis Presley – she would later play Gladys Presley in the 1990 miniseries Elvis; the studio then dropped Perkins. Joshua Logan personally selected Perkins for the female lead in the 1964 film Ensign Pulver, but the film was a failure; Perkins would not appear in another mainstream film release for almost 20 years.