Elizabeth Montgomery

 Elizabeth Montgomery (April 15, 1933 – May 18, 1995) was the luminous Hollywood “witch” who turned a lifetime in front of cameras into something brave and deeply human: born to actor parents in Los Angeles, she grew from a shy, privileged TV “baby” on her father’s show Robert Montgomery Presents into a versatile star of live drama, Broadway, and then global fame as nose‑twitching Samantha Stephens on Bewitched, a role that made her one of the most beloved faces of 1960s television. Acting was her great passion, and after eight seasons of sitcom magic she deliberately chased darker, challenging projects—TV films like A Case of Rape and The Legend of Lizzie Borden, edgy thrillers, and even political documentaries—using her familiar warmth to tell tougher stories and prove she was far more than a cute suburban witch. Behind the scenes she lived a mix of Hollywood glamour and quiet rebellion: four marriages, three children with producer‑director William Asher, a long final partnership with actor Robert Foxworth, a love of horses and coastal California life, and a strong streak of activism that saw her support liberal causes, AIDS and gay‑rights work, and narrate the Oscar‑winning documentary The Panama Deception before her life was cut short by colon cancer at 62—leaving a legacy that blends stardust, courage and a very modern independent spirit.