Barbara Bates

 Barbara Bates (August 6, 1925 – March 18, 1969)

She was known for her role as Phoebe in the 1950 drama film All About Eve. In September 1944, 19 year old Bates signed a contract with Universal Pictures after Cecil Coan introduced her to producer Walter Wanger. Soon after, she was cast as one of the "Seven Salome Girls" in the 1945 drama, Salome Where She Danced starring Yvonne De Carlo. Around this time, she fell in love with Coan, who was married with two sons and two daughters. In March 1945, Coan divorced his wife Helen Coan and secretly married Bates days later. Bates spent the next few years as a stock actress, landing bit parts in movies and doing cheesecake layouts for magazines like Yank, the Army Weekly and Life. It was one of those photo sessions that caught the eye of executives at Warner Bros. who signed her in 1947. Warner Bros. highlighted her "girl-next-door" image and her acting career took off. She appeared with some of the biggest stars of the day including Bette Davis in June Bride and Danny Kaye in The Inspector General.

In All About Eve, she made a short but important appearance as the devious schemer, Phoebe, at the end of the film. After her appearance in All About Eve, Bates co-starred in Cheaper by the Dozen, and its sequel Belles on Their Toes, with Jeanne Crain and Myrna Loy. Despite a seemingly successful career, Bates's life, both on and off screen, started unravelling. She became a victim of extreme mood swings, insecurity, ill health, and chronic depression. This forced her to written out of the show It's a Great Life, which she had been recently cast in. In 1960, Bates's husband Cecil Coan was diagnosed with cancer, and she put her career on hold to take care of him. The strain eventually became too much for her. She attempted suicide by slashing her wrists and was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Hospital where she soon recovered. Coan died in 1967, which further pushed her into depression. Despite getting remarried, she was not happy with her life. Bates committed suicide by carbon monoxide in her Mother's garage, she was 43 years old. She is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Jefferson County, Colorado.