Vera Ralston

 Vera Ralston, born Věra Helena Hrubá (July 12, 1920 – February 9, 2003)

She worked as an actress during the 1940s and 1950s. As a figure skater, she represented Czechoslovakia in competition under her birth name Věra Hrubá. She competed at the 1936 European Figure Skating Championships and placed 15th. Later that season, she competed at the 1936 Winter Olympics, where she placed 17th. During the games, she personally met and insulted Adolf Hitler. Hitler asked her if she would like to "skate for the swastika." As she later boasted, "I looked him right in the eye, and said that I'd rather skate on the swastika. The Führer was furious. She moved to Hollywood with her mother and signed a contract in 1943 with Republic Pictures. During her career she was known as Vera Hrubá Ralston and later Vera Ralston. She normally played an immigrant girl, because of her limited English skills. Among the 26 films Ralston starred in were Storm Over Lisbon with Erich von Stroheim (1944), Dakota (1945) with John Wayne, I, Jane Doe (1948) with Ruth Hussey and John Carrol, The Fighting Kentuckian, also with John Wayne (1949), A Perilous Journey with David Brian (1953), and Fair Wind to Java with Fred MacMurray (1953). Ralston retired from films in 1958. Reportedly only 2 of her 20 films made money.

She died on February 9, 2003, in Santa Barbara, California, after a long battle with cancer. She was married twice. Ralston is buried at Santa Barbara Cemetery in Santa Barbara, California.