Editing Inger Stevens

{{Short description|Swedish and American actress (1934–1970)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = Inger Stevens in A Guide for the Married Man.jpg
| image_caption      = Inger Stevens in 1967
| birth_name         = Ingrid Stensland
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1934|10|18}}
| birth_place        = Stockholm, Sweden
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1970|04|30|1934|10|18}}
| death_place        = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| occupation         = Actress
| resting_place      = Cremated, Ashes scattered at sea
| years_active       = 1954–1970
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Anthony Soglio|1955|1958|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Ike Jones]]|1961}}
}}
| awards             = Best TV Star (TV Guide) – Female<br />1964 ''[[The Farmer's Daughter (TV series)|The Farmer's Daughter]]''
}}

'''Inger Stevens''' (born '''Ingrid Stensland'''; October 18, 1934&nbsp;– April 30, 1970)<ref name=CalDeath>{{cite web|title=Inger S Stevens|url=http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?ti=0&indiv=try&db=cadeath1940&h=7058797|work=[[California Birth Index|California Death Index]], 1940–1997|via=Ancestry.com|accessdate=July 1, 2011|url-access=subscription|quote=Name: Inger S Stevens; Social Security #: 511200818; Sex: Female; Birth Date: 18 Oct 1934; Birthplace: Sweden; Death Date: 30 Apr 1970; Death Place: Los Angeles}}</ref> was a Swedish and American film, stage, and [[Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe]]–winning television actress.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inger Stevens |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/184427%7C72747/Inger-Stevens |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Turner Classic Movies |language=en}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Inger Stevens was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the eldest child of Per Gustaf<ref>{{cite news |title=Obits {{!}} Per Stensland |newspaper=[[The Newtown Bee]] |date=August 14, 1998 |url=https://www.newtownbee.com/08111999/headline-453/ |access-date=2022-09-29}}</ref><!-- "Per-Stensland" "Manhattan-Kansas" – Google Search --> and Lisbet Stensland.<ref name="gggnd">{{cite book |last=Pilato |first=Herbie J. |title=Glamour, Gidgets, and the Girl Next Door: Television's Iconic Women from the 50s, 60s, and 70s |date=2014 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-1-58979-970-7 |page=134 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbyCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA134 |access-date=June 17, 2017 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Farmer's Daughter Remembered: The Biography of Actress Inger Stevens |first=William T. |last=Patterson |date=September 30, 2017 |publisher=[[Xlibris]] |isbn=978-0-7388-1192-5}}{{self-published source|date=January 2018}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=January 2018}} When she was six years old, her mother abandoned the family, taking her youngest son Peter with her. Soon after, Stevens' father moved to the United States, leaving Stevens and her brother Ola in the custody of the family maid and then later with an aunt on [[Lidingö]],<ref name="ingerstevens.org">{{cite web |title=A Short Biography |first=Jerry |last=Lem |website=The Inger Stevens Memorial Site |url=http://www.ingerstevens.org/bio.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406090557/http://www.ingerstevens.org/bio.html|archive-date=2018-04-06}}{{rs|date=October 2022}}</ref> an island near Stockholm.<ref name=brumburgh>{{cite news |last=Brumburgh |first=Gary |title=Inger Stevens: Wounded Butterfly |newspaper=[[Classic Images]] |url=http://www.classicimages.com/people/article_1e7f82c6-bac3-57e9-a1bb-2d301aee1af7.html |access-date=October 13, 2015 |archive-date=October 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026212849/http://www.classicimages.com/people/article_1e7f82c6-bac3-57e9-a1bb-2d301aee1af7.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1944, Stevens and her brother moved to the United States and lived with their father and his new American wife in New York City, where her father was completing his PhD in education at [[Columbia University]]. At age 13, Stevens moved with her family to [[Manhattan, Kansas]], where her father taught at [[Kansas State University]]. Stevens attended [[Manhattan High School]].<ref name=gggnd />

At 15, Stevens fled to [[Kansas City metropolitan area|Kansas City]], where she worked in [[American burlesque|burlesque]] shows.<ref>{{cite web |title=TECH 1: The Mysterious Death of Inger Stevens |last=Silverman |website=tech1tech1.blogspot.com |date=February 14, 2015 |url=https://tech1tech1.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-mysterious-death-of-inger-stevens.html}}</ref> At 18, she returned to New York City, where she worked as a [[Chorus line|chorus girl]] and in the [[Garment District, Manhattan|Garment District]] while taking classes at the [[Actors Studio]].<ref name=brumburgh /><ref>{{Cite web |last=McOmish |first=Sorcha McCrory, Freya |date=2023-08-10 |title=What Ever Happened to Inger Stevens? |url=https://www.scandinaviastandard.com/what-ever-happened-to-inger-stevens/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Scandinavia Standard |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Career ==
[[File:Inger Stevens (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Stevens in 1957]]
Stevens appeared on television series, in commercials, and in plays until she received her big break in the film {{film show year|Man on Fire|1957}}, starring [[Bing Crosby]].

Starring roles in major films followed, including opposite [[James Mason]] and [[Rod Steiger]] in ''[[Cry Terror!]]'' (1958) and opposite [[Harry Belafonte]] in 1959's ''{{film year|The World, the Flesh and the Devil|1959}}'', but she achieved her greatest success in the television series ''[[The Farmer's Daughter (TV series)|The Farmer's Daughter]]'' (1963–1966) with [[William Windom (actor)|William Windom]]. Previously, Stevens had appeared in episodes of ''[[Bonanza]]'', ''[[Route 66 (TV series)|Route 66]]'', ''[[List of Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes|The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]'', ''[[The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)|The Eleventh Hour]]'', ''[[Sam Benedict]]'', ''[[The Aquanauts]]'', and ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]''.

Following the cancellation of ''The Farmer's Daughter'' in 1966, Stevens appeared in several films including: ''[[A Guide for the Married Man]]'' (1967), ''[[Hang 'Em High]]'', ''[[5 Card Stud]]'', and ''[[Madigan]]'' (all released in 1968). Her final theatrical film was {{film show year|A Dream of Kings|1969}} opposite [[Anthony Quinn]]. Her final project was the television film, ''[[Run, Simon, Run]]'' (1970) with [[Burt Reynolds]]. At the time of her death, Stevens was attempting to revive her television career with the detective drama series ''[[The Most Deadly Game]]''.{{Citation needed |date=December 2019}}

== Personal life ==
Stevens's first husband was her agent, Anthony Soglio,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r7csXXH7S9UC&q=Inger&pg=PT104|title=Morbid Curiosity: The Disturbing Demises of the Famous and Infamous|first=Alan W.|last=Petrucelli|date=September 29, 2009|publisher=Penguin|via=Google Books|isbn=978-1-101-14049-9}}</ref> to whom she was married from 1955 to 1957.

In January 1966, she was appointed to the advisory board of the [[Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior|UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute]] by California governor [[Pat Brown|Edmund G. "Pat" Brown]]. She also was named chairman of the California Council for Retarded Children. Her aunt was Karin Stensland Junker, author of ''The Child in the Glass Ball''.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Carol|last1=Turkington|first2=Ruth|last2=Anan| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W-XGmKsK6ycC&q=Stensland&pg=PA301|title=The Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders|date=September 30, 2017|publisher=Infobase Publishing|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0-8160-7505-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004225304/http://www.ingerstevens.org/children.html|url=http://www.ingerstevens.org/children.html|title=Inger and the Children|archive-date=October 4, 2017|website=www.ingerstevens.org|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

After Stevens' death, [[Ike Jones]], the first African American to graduate from UCLA's School of Theater, Film, and Television, alleged that he had secretly married Stevens in Mexico in 1961.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ike-jones-20141012-story.html |title=Ike Jones dies at 84; pioneering African American film producer |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=October 11, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Robinson|first=Louie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56|title=Death of Actress Inger Stevens|date=May 21, 1970|work=Jet|page=56|via=Google Books}}</ref> Some doubted Jones' claim because of the lack of a marriage license, the maintenance of separate homes, and the filing of tax documents as single people.<ref name="Hollywood's Babylon Women">{{cite book|last=Austin|first=John|url= https://archive.org/details/hollywoodsbabylo00aust/|title=Hollywood's Babylon Women|chapter=Inger Stevens: Accident .. Suicide .. Or ...?|page=[https://archive.org/details/hollywoodsbabylo00aust/page/170 170]|publisher=S.P.I. Books|year=1994|isbn=978-1-56171-288-5|via=Internet Archive|access-date=July 1, 2011}}</ref> However, when Stevens' estate was being settled, her brother, Carl O. Stensland, confirmed in court that Stevens had hidden her marriage to Jones "out of fear for her career."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DzgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22|title=Inger's Brother Backs Ike Jones' Claim on Estate|work=Jet|date=August 13, 1970|page=22|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|via=Google Books}}</ref> Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner A. Edward Nichols ruled in Jones' favor<ref>{{cite news|title=Rule Ex-Actor Mate Of Actress, She Took Own Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JTgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA23|access-date=June 17, 2017|work=Jet|date=August 20, 1970|page=23|publisher = Johnson Publishing Company}}</ref> and named him administrator of her estate.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810092022/http://www.ingerstevens.org/moreinfo.html|url=http://www.ingerstevens.org/moreinfo.html|title=April 30th, 1970 and Aftermath|website=ingerstevens.org|archive-date=August 10, 2017|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> A photograph exists of the two attending a banquet together in 1968.<ref name="ingerstevens.org" />

== Death ==
On the morning of April 30, 1970, Stevens' roommate and companion Lola McNally found Stevens on the kitchen floor of her Hollywood Hills home. According to McNally, Stevens opened her eyes, lifted her head, and tried to speak, but was unable to utter any sound. McNally told police that she had spoken to Stevens the previous night and had seen no signs of trouble. Stevens died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. On arrival, medics removed a small bandage from her chin that revealed a small amount of fresh blood oozing from a cut that appeared to have been a few hours old. Los Angeles County coroner Dr. [[Thomas Noguchi]] attributed Stevens' death to "acute [[barbiturate]] poisoning"<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KuW9GwAACAAJ|title=Fallen Angels: The Lives and Untimely Deaths of Fourteen Hollywood Beauties|first=Kirk|last=Crivello|date=September 30, 1988|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group Limited|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0-7088-4836-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3rmJCgAAQBAJ&q=Inger&pg=PA301|title=Suicide in the Entertainment Industry: An Encyclopedia of 840 Twentieth Century Cases|first=David K.|last=Frasier|date=March 8, 2005|publisher=McFarland|via=Google Books|isbn=978-1-4766-0807-5}}</ref> and the death was eventually ruled a suicide.

== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
{{div col}}
*''[[Man on Fire (1957 film)|Man on Fire]]'' (1957)&nbsp;— Nina Wylie
*''[[Cry Terror!]]'' (1958)&nbsp;— Mrs. Joan Molner
*''[[The Buccaneer (1958 film)|The Buccaneer]]'' (1958)&nbsp;— Annette Claiborne
*''[[The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959 film)|The World, the Flesh and the Devil]]'' (1959)&nbsp;— Sarah Crandall
*''[[The New Interns]]'' (1964)&nbsp;— Nancy Terman
*''[[The Borgia Stick]]'' (1967, TV)&nbsp;— Eve Harrison
*''[[A Guide for the Married Man]]'' (1967)&nbsp;— Ruth Manning
*''[[A Time for Killing]]'' (1967)&nbsp;— Emily Biddle
*''[[Firecreek]]'' (1968)&nbsp;— Evelyn Pittman
*''[[Madigan]]'' (1968)&nbsp;— Julia Madigan
*''[[5 Card Stud]]'' (1968)&nbsp;— Lily Langford
*''[[Hang 'Em High]]'' (1968)&nbsp;— Rachel Warren
*''[[House of Cards (1968 film)|House of Cards]]'' (1968)&nbsp;— Anne de Villemont
*''[[A Dream of Kings (film)|A Dream of Kings]]'' (1969)&nbsp;— Anna
*''[[Run, Simon, Run]]'' (1970, TV)&nbsp;— Carroll Rennard
{{div col end}}

[[File:Rod Serling Inger Stevens Serling model airplane collection 1960.JPG|thumb|right|Stevens appeared in two episodes of [[Rod Serling]]'s ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' (image at his home in 1960).]]

=== Television ===
*''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'' (1 episode, 1954)
*''[[Robert Montgomery Presents]]'' (1 episode, 1955)
*''[[Studio One (U.S. TV series)|Studio One]]'' (3 episodes, 1954–1955)&nbsp;— Lucy Henderson / Mary / Sue Ellen
*''Crunch and Des'' (1 episode, 1956)&nbsp;— The Actress
*''[[NBC Matinee Theater|Matinee Theatre]]'' (1 episode, 1956)
*''Crusader'' as Alicia in "The Girl Across the Hall" (CBS, 1956)&nbsp;— Alicia
*''[[Conflict (American TV series)|Conflict]]'' (1 episode, 1956)&nbsp;— Lady Arabella
*''[[The Joseph Cotten Show (TV series)|The Joseph Cotten Show]]'', or ''On Trial'' (1 episode, "Law Is for the Lovers", 1956)&nbsp;— Ruth
*''[[The Millionaire (TV series)|The Millionaire]]'' (1 episode, 1956)&nbsp;— Betty Perkins
*''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (Season 2 Episode 17: "My Brother, Richard") (1957)&nbsp;— Laura Ross
*''[[Climax!]]'' (1 episode, 1957)&nbsp;— Marge
*''[[Playhouse 90]]'' (2 episodes, 1956–1959)&nbsp;— Gail Lucas / Johanna&nbsp;— Chambermaid
*''[[Bonanza]]'' (1 episode, 1959)&nbsp;— Emily Pennington
*''Sunday Showcase'' (1 episode, 1959)&nbsp;— Nina Kay
*''[[Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre]]'' (1 episode, 1960)&nbsp;— Beth Watkins
*''Moment of Fear'' (1 episode, 1960)
*''[[Checkmate (American TV series)|Checkmate]]'' (1 episode, 1960)&nbsp;— Betty Lyons
*''[[Hong Kong (TV series)|Hong Kong]]'' (1 episode, 1960)&nbsp;— Joan Blakely
*''[[The Twilight Zone]]''
**In "[[The Hitch-Hiker (The Twilight Zone)|The Hitch-Hiker]]" Season 1 Episode 16 (CBS, 1960)&nbsp;— Nan Adams
**In "[[The Lateness of the Hour (The Twilight Zone)|The Lateness of the Hour]]", Season 2 Episode 8 (CBS, 1960)&nbsp;— Jana
*''[[Route 66 (TV series)|Route 66]]'' (2 episodes, 1960–1961)&nbsp;— Julie Brack / Wendy Durant
*''[[The DuPont Show of the Month]]'' (1 episode, 1961)&nbsp;— Princess Flavia
*''[[Adventures in Paradise (TV series)|Adventures in Paradise]]'' (1 episode, 1961)&nbsp;— Dr. Britta Sjostrom
*''[[The Aquanauts]]'' (1 episode, 1961)&nbsp;— Margot Allison
*''[[The Detectives (1959 TV series)|The Detectives]]'' (1 episode, 1961)&nbsp;— Thea Templeton
*''[[Follow the Sun (TV series)|Follow the Sun]]'' (2 episodes, 1961)&nbsp;— Lisa Mannheim / Abby Ellis
*''[[The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)|The Eleventh Hour]]'' (1 episode, 1962)&nbsp;— Christine Warren
*''[[Sam Benedict]]'' (1 episode, 1962)&nbsp;— Theresa Stone
*''[[The Dick Powell Show]]'' (2 episodes, 1962–1963)&nbsp;— Adele Hughes / Anna Beza
*''[[Your First Impression]]'' (1963)&nbsp;— Herself
*''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents|The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]'' (1963) (Season 1 Episode 17: "Forecast: Low Clouds and Coastal Fog")&nbsp;— Karen Wilson
*''[[The Nurses (TV series)|The Nurses]]'' (1 episode, 1963)&nbsp;— Clarissa Robin
*''[[Empire (1962 TV series)|Empire]]'' (1 episode, 1963)&nbsp;— Ellen Thompson
*''[[The Farmer's Daughter (TV series)|The Farmer's Daughter]]'' (101 episodes, 1963–1966)&nbsp;— Katy Holstrum / Katy Morley / Ann Carpenter
*''[[The Danny Kaye Show]]'' (1 episode, 1966)&nbsp;— Herself
*''[[The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour]]'' (1 episode, 1967)&nbsp;— Eve Harrison
*''[[The Mask of Sheba]]'' (1970)&nbsp;— Sarah Kramer
*''[[Run, Simon, Run]]'' (1970)&nbsp;— Carroll Rennard
*''[[The Most Deadly Game]]'' (1 episode, 1970)&nbsp;— Vanessa Smith

== Broadway credits ==
*''Debut'' (1956)
*''Roman Candle'' (1960)
*''[[Mary, Mary (play)|Mary, Mary]]'' (1962)<ref>{{IBDB name|61057}}</ref>

== Awards and nominations ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Result
! Award
! Category
! Series
|-
| 1958
| {{nom}}
|rowspan=2| Laurel Awards
| Top New Female Personality
| —
|-
| 1968
| {{nom}}
| Best Female Comedy Performance
| ''A Guide for the Married Man''
|-
| 1963
| {{won}}
| [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globe]]
| [[21st Golden Globe Awards#Television|Best TV Star – Female]]
| ''The Farmer's Daughter''
|-
| 1962
| {{nom}}
|rowspan=2| [[Emmy Award]]
| [[14th Primetime Emmy Awards#Single performances|Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role]]
| ''The Dick Powell Show''
|-
| 1964
| {{nom}}
| [[16th Primetime Emmy Awards#Lead performances|Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Series (Lead)]]
| ''The Farmer's Daughter''
|}
{{Portal|Biography|Sweden|New York (state)|Kansas|United States|California|Theatre|Film|Television}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|first=William T.|last=Patterson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VmdPwAACAAJ|title=The Farmer's Daughter Remembered: The Biography of Actress Inger Stevens|year=2000|publisher=[[Xlibris]]|isbn=978-0-7388-1192-5}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180406091816/http://ingerstevens.org/main.html Inger Stevens Memorial Site] (archived)
* {{IBDB name}}

{{Golden Globe Award Best Actress TV Comedy|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Inger}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:1970 suicides]]
[[Category:Actresses from Kansas]]
[[Category:Actresses from Stockholm]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American stage actresses]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (television) winners]]
[[Category:Drug-related suicides in California]]
[[Category:Barbiturates-related deaths]]
[[Category:People from Manhattan, Kansas]]
[[Category:Swedish emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century Swedish women]]