Monday 6 February 2012

yesterday's muse #26 - helen bennett



Helen Bennett was born on August 14, 1911 in Springfield Missouri. she was a model and actress , best known for her stylish platinum coiffure. Bennett began her career as a beauty queen and was awarded the title Miss Missouri in 1937. she attended the University of Missouri and the Goodman Theater acting school in Chicago, before setting her sights on New York City.



in New York, Helen found work as a model. she also appeared on Broadway in shows such as "Dream Girl." according to IMDB, Helen's "attention to style and grooming earned her a much coveted recognition by Monsieur Leon, a prominent New York hairstylist who promoted -- some say invented -- the well-groomed "new look" in the late 1940s. Leon named Bennett along with actresses Claudette Colbert, Kathryn Grayson, Gertrude Lawrence and Norma Shearer as the five women in America with the best-dressed hair."




Bennett, along with a handful of other models like Norma Shearer and Gene Tierney, was able to make a successful transition into acting, appearing in films such as Lost City of the Jungle (1946) and The Scarlet Horseman (1946), and later, Return to Peyton Place (1961) with Tuesday Weld.



Helen was married to a man named Sylvester James Andrews, though I can't seem to find out when or for how long, or if she had any children. she died at the age of 89 on Sunday, February 25, 2001, in Santa Monica, California.



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