Barbara Lawrence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barbara Lawrence (born Barbara Jo Lawrence on February 24, 1930) is a film actress.
Lawrence was born in Carnegie, Oklahoma. She began her career as a photographer's model at a very young age, and appeared in her first film at age 15, Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe (1945). She was featured in the 1947 swashbuckler, "Captain from Castile" with Tyrone Power. While finishing her studies at UCLA, she attracted the attention of talent scouts, and Lawrence was soon co-starring in a handful of 20th Century Fox movies, including A Letter to Three Wives and Here Comes the Nelsons. In 1947, at age 17, she married another actor, John Fontaine, but the couple divorced the next year.
Upon moving to MGM, Lawrence starred with Gig Young in the 3D movie, Arena. She then starred in Her Twelve Men with Greer Garson. Lawrence also played the major role of Gertie Cummings in the movie Oklahoma!. In 1951 the actress married Johnny Murphy, and the couple had two children together before divorcing in 1957.
In 1957, Lawrence starred in the sci-fi film Kronos with Jeff Morrow. Although the film was not praised by critics at the time, it eventually attracted a cult following for its imaginative storyline and special effects.
After doing a number of television shows in the late 1950s and early 1960s she spent several years in South America. After marrying Lester R. Nelson in 1961 she had a few more 1962 TV appearances and then retired from acting altogether, divorcing Nelson in 1976. Lawrence eventually became a Beverly Hills real estate agent and, more recently, a novelist with Welcome to the Jungle, an adventure story based on her experiences living in South America. Lawrence has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
