Linda Darnell is an American actress who became a film star of the 20th century thanks to her natural beauty and talent. Her career began with modeling and ended with Hollywood films. Learn more at i-dallas.
First steps into acting
Linda Darnell was born on October 16, 1923, in Dallas. Her father was a postman. At birth, her parents named her Monetta Eloyse Darnell. She grew up in a large family with four children, and her mother had two more children from a previous marriage. Her parents were not happy in their marriage. Observing the conflicts in her family, she became quite shy. However, her mother noticed that her daughter had an acting talent and encouraged her to develop in that direction. While in school, Linda won many local talent contests.
At the age of 11, Linda began designing clothing for a local department store and also became interested in modeling. At the age of thirteen, she debuted on stage. When Hollywood representatives came to Dallas searching for young talent, her mother advised her to go for an audition. When they found out that the girl had lied about her age, she was turned down and was told to come back when she turned 15.
How she started working in Hollywood
In 1939, Linda Darnell finally made it to Hollywood. After signing a contract with 20th Century Fox, her career skyrocketed. Her debut role was in the film Hotel for Women in 1939. After the movie was presented to the public, newspapers called Linda the new star of Hollywood. While working on the film, the young star experienced firsthand the challenges of acting. As she later said in an interview, at that moment, all her images of the easy and careless lives of Hollywood actors were completely shattered.
Linda attracted attention again after the release of the comedy movie Star Dust in 1939, which was recognized as one of the “most original entertainment ideas in years.” It enhanced the popularity of the young actress, and she started getting roles in more expensive and high-quality projects. For example, she starred in The Mark of Zorro alongside Tyrone Power, with whom she later appeared in Blood and Sand.
She achieved the greatest success in the late 1940s after playing in films such as Forever Amber, Unfaithfully Yours and A Letter to Three Wives. In 1944, Look magazine named Linda Darnell one of the four most beautiful women in Hollywood. The following year, she landed the role of Netta Longdon in the movie Hangover Square, which became one of the highest-grossing films of the year. In 1952, she played the lead part in Blackbeard the Pirate.
End of an acting career
A dark period in her acting career began in the 1950s. The film No Way Out, released in 1950, was Darnell’s last successful project, as her subsequent roles rarely got much attention.
Her next movie was the western Two Flags West, but working on it was very difficult because she had an allergy to horses. As a result of addiction to alcohol and gaining weight, the actress almost stopped acting. Linda’s last appearance on screen was in the low-budget western Black Spurs in 1965.
Tragic death
In 1965, Darnell’s house caught fire. At that moment, the actress was inside the house with her daughter and friends. At first, Linda tried to save her daughter from the flames and then attempted to get out herself, but she couldn’t open the door because the doorknob was too hot. The actress died on April 10, 1965, from burns. Later, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.