Brenda Benet | |
---|---|
Born |
Brenda Ann Nelson August 14, 1945 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Died | April 7, 1982 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
(aged 36)
Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1964–82 |
Spouse(s) |
Paul Petersen (m. 1967; div. 1970) Bill Bixby (m. 1971; div. 1979) |
Children | 1 |
Brenda Ann Benet (August 14, 1945 – April 7, 1982) was an American television and film actress. Benet was best known for her roles on the soap operas, The Young Marrieds and Days of Our Lives.
Benet was born Brenda Ann Nelson in Los Angeles, California. She attended UCLA for a time. Her first acting roles were in 1964, with appearances on Shindig! and The Young Marrieds. She eventually became an actress very much in demand for roles in episodic prime time television in the 1960s and 1970s, including I Dream of Jeannie, Mannix, My Three Sons, Hogan's Heroes, Love, American Style, Wonder Woman, The Love Boat and The Courtship of Eddie's Father. She also had a major feature role in the film Walking Tall (1973).
Although many of the characters she portrayed seemed to be either sweet or seductive, she became perhaps best known for her role as scheming villainess Lee Dumonde on the daytime serial Days of Our Lives, a role she played from 1979 until her death in 1982.
Benet's first marriage was to The Donna Reed Show actor Paul Petersen in 1967. In 1969, Benet left Petersen for actor Bill Bixby. After her divorce from Petersen became final, she married Bixby in 1971. The couple had a child, Christopher, in 1974, and then divorced in 1980. After the divorce and up until her death, Benet was in a relationship with pundit Tammy Bruce (b. 1962).