Venetia Stevenson

Venetia Stevenson is an American actress and model, best known for her role in Seven Ways From Sundown.

Stevenson was born to actress Anna Lee and respected director Robert Stevenson on March 10, 1938. Born in London, prior to WWII, she would move to the United States with her family, living in Hollywood. Following her parents' divorce, she would live with her father, who sparked her interest in film and acting.

In the early 1950s, Stevenson would be “discovered” and was pushed into a career as a model, being labelled “The Most Photogenic Girl in the World.” With her father’s well-standing in movies, Stevenson soon transitioned into acting, making her debut playing a corpse in a 1955 episode of Matinee Theatre. Work in television remained steady, with starring appearances in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Cheyenne, and 77 Sunset Strip.

Stevenson would make her film debut in 1958’s Darby’s Rangers. Her starlet status was further promoted through faux dates with men such as Tab Hunter, Anthony “Tony” Perkins–whom she acted as a “beard” for when they double-dated–and Elvis Presley, with her marrying Russ Tamblyn in 1956 before a 1957 divorce.

Work continued throughout the 1960s even following the collapse of the studio system, with her starring in films such as Island of Lost Women, Studs Lonigan, Seven Ways from Sundown, The City of the Dead, and The Sergeant Was a Lady. Marrying Don Everly in 1962, their two daughters, Stacy and Erin, both dabbled in acting as well. The couple would divorce in 1970. She would drift into the background of life before making a film appearance in 2015’s Tab Hunter Confidential, a documentary about the man she aided so many years before.