Martha Vickers (May 28, 1925 – November 2, 1971) was an American model and actress.

Early life and career

Born Martha MacVicar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she began her career as a model and cover girl. Her first film role was a small uncredited part in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943).

She played minor roles in several films during the early 1940s, and by the end of the decade she had progressed to featured supporting roles, including the role of Carmen Sternwood, the nymphomaniac younger sister of Lauren Bacall's character in The Big Sleep (1946). During the 1950s, Vickers' film career stalled, however she continued to act in television, such as the role of Sheila Hayes in the 1959 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Jaded Joker." Her final two performances in 1960 were on The Rebel, starring Nick Adams.

Personal life and death

Vickers was married three times; to A. C. Lyles (March 15, 1948 – May 1949), Mickey Rooney (June 3, 1949 – September 25, 1951) and actor Manuel Rojas (October 1, 1954 – 1965). Each marriage ended in divorce. Vickers had one son with Mickey Rooney, and two daughters with Rojas.

She died of esophageal cancer, aged 46, in California, and is buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California.