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Directly out of high school she was signed to a film contract with Paramount, having had no previous acting experience. After coaching and grooming she went on to play leads in numerous films of the '40s. Insecure and introverted, she was said to suffer from anxiety attacks during acting, and she eventually slipped into alcoholism. In the early '50s she was arrested several times for drunk driving, and also was involved in a romantic scandal with John Wayne; after 1951 she went five years without a screen role. From 1956-61 she appeared in four films. In 1961 she was found dead in her apartment amidst many empty alcohol bottles; she was 36. From 1949-54 she was married to actor Guy Madison.