Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery

 Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1933 – May 18, 1995)

She is best remembered for her role as Samantha Stephens on the television series Bewitched. The daughter of Robert Montgomery, she began her career in the 1950s with a role on her father's television series Robert Montgomery Presents, and won a Theater World Award for her 1956 Broadway debut in the production Late Love. In the 1960s, she became known for her role as Samantha Stephens on the ABC sitcom Bewitched. Her work on the series earned her five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations. After Bewitched ended its run in 1972, Montgomery continued her career with roles in numerous television films, including A Case of Rape (1974), as Ellen Harrod, and The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975) in the title role. Both roles earned her additional Emmy Award nominations. Throughout her career, Montgomery was involved in various forms of political activism and charitable work. She has been cited as one of the earliest celebrities to support gay rights and advocate for AIDS victims, volunteering with the AIDS Project Los Angeles and amfAR at the height of the AIDS epidemic.

In the spring of 1995, Montgomery was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. She had ignored the flu-like symptoms during the filming of Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan, which she finished filming in late March 1995. By the time the cancer was diagnosed, it was too late for medical intervention. With no hope of recovery and unwilling to die in a hospital, she chose to return to the Beverly Hills home that she shared with her husband Robert Foxworth. Early in the morning of May 18, 1995, Montgomery died at home eight weeks after her diagnosis.