May Britt
May Britt | |
|---|---|
 Britt in the 1960s | |
| Born | Maj-Britt Wilkens 22 March 1934 Lidingö, Sweden |
| Died | 11 December 2025 (aged 91) Tarzana, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1952–1988 |
| Spouses | Lennart Ringquist
(m. 1993; died 2017) |
| Children | 3 |
Maj-Britt Wilkens (22 March 1934 – 11 December 2025), known as May Britt (/maɪ/ MY[1]), was a Swedish–American actress who had a brief career in the 1950s in Italy and later in the United States. She was married to American entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. from 1960 to 1968.
Life and career
[edit]
Maj-Britt Wilkens was born in Lidingö on 22 March 1934, the daughter of Hugo and Hillevi Wilkens.[2][3]
Britt was discovered as a teenager by Italian filmmakers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati in 1951. She was then an assistant to a Stockholm photographer.[4] The two filmmakers were in Sweden to cast a young blonde for the title role in Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair. They came to the studio where she worked to view photographs of models. After meeting her, they offered her the part. May Britt, as she was renamed professionally, moved to Rome. As expected, she made her film debut as the leading actress in Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair (1952).[4]
In the following years, she worked in some ten Cinecittà productions. She also featured in the epic film War and Peace of 1956.
In the late 1950s, Britt relocated to Hollywood after signing with 20th Century Fox. She starred in a few movies, including The Young Lions (1958) with Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, The Hunters (1958) with Robert Mitchum and Robert Wagner and Murder, Inc. (1960) with Peter Falk, as well as a much-criticised remake of The Blue Angel (1959) in the role first created by Marlene Dietrich in 1930.
Marriages
[edit]Britt married Edwin Gregson, a college student, in 1958. In 1959, she filed for divorce.[4]
She met Sammy Davis Jr. in 1959. They began dating, and, after a brief engagement, were married on 13 November 1960. Their wedding caused controversy. A rumour or myth was that John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy told Frank Sinatra to tell Davis not to marry May until after the 1960 Presidential Election. At that time interracial marriage was forbidden by law in 31 U.S. states, and only in 1967 were those laws (by then down to 17 states) ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.[5] Prior to the wedding, Britt converted to Judaism.[6] The couple were married by Reform Rabbi William M. Kramer.[7] It has been confirmed by Sammy and Britt's daughter Tracey, Nancy Sinatra, and documentarian Sam Pollard that this marriage resulted in Kennedy rejecting an invitation for Davis to perform at his Inauguration. Yet, Harry Belafonte, who was married to a white woman at the time, was invited to perform.[8][9][10]
Once married, Britt retired from films.
Britt and Davis had a daughter, Tracey Davis (July 5, 1961 – November 2, 2020).[11][12]
Britt and Davis adopted two sons. Britt and Davis divorced in 1968 after Davis had an affair with dancer Lola Falana.[1]
Later life and death
[edit]After the divorce, Britt resumed working and made sporadic television guest appearances, the last an episode of Probe in 1988. She and Davis remained on good terms. In 1993 she married Lennart Rindquist, to whom she remained married until his death in 2017.[1]
Britt died at Providence Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana, California, on 11 December 2025, at the age of 91.[2]
In popular culture
[edit]May Britt was portrayed by Megan Dodds in the 1998 television film The Rat Pack which depicted her marriage to Sammy Davis Jr., who was played by Don Cheadle.
Selected filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | The Unfaithfuls | Liliana Capacci Rodgers | |
| 1953 | Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair | Jolanda | Alternative title: Jolanda la figlia del corsaro nero |
| 1953 | Fatal Desire | Santuzza | Alternative title: Cavalleria rusticana |
| 1953 | La lupa | Maria Maricchia | |
| 1953 | Funniest Show on Earth | Brigitte, la domatrice | |
| 1953 | The Ship of Condemned Women | Consuelo | |
| 1954 | Vergine moderna | Claudia Bardi | Alternative title: Modern Virgin |
| 1955 | Give 'em Hell | Gina | |
| 1955 | L'ultimo amante | Maria Spanisch | |
| 1955 | Revelation | Nadia Ulianova | |
| 1956 | War and Peace | Sonya Rostova | |
| 1958 | The Young Lions | Gretchen Hardenberg | |
| 1958 | The Hunters | Kristina Abbott | |
| 1959 | The Blue Angel | Lola-Lola | |
| 1960 | Murder, Inc. | Eadie Collins | |
| 1976 | Haunts | Ingrid | Alternative title: The Veil |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | The Danny Thomas Hour | Anna | 1 episode |
| 1969 | Mission: Impossible | Eva Gollan | 1 episode |
| 1971 | The Most Deadly Game | Lili | 1 episode |
| The Partners | 1 episode | ||
| 1988 | Probe | Helga | 1 episode |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Risen, Clay (22 December 2025). "May Britt, 91, Dies; Her Marriage to Sammy Davis Jr. Sparked Outrage". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ a b Barnes, Mike. "May Britt, Swedish Actress and Wife of Sammy Davis Jr., Dies at 91". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
- ^ Davis, Tracey; Pierce, Nina Bunche (22 April 2014). Sammy Davis Jr.: A Personal Journey with My Father. Running Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7624-5064-0. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
- ^ a b c Fishgall, Gary (2010). Gonna Do Great Things: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr. Simon and Schuster. p. 141. ISBN 9781439131572. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967).
- ^ "May Britt Joins Jewish Faith", The New York Times, 18 October 1960, p. 46
- ^ Tugend, Tom (17 June 2004). "Rabbi William Kramer Dies at 84". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 30 March 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ Young, Deborah (10 September 2017). "Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me': Film Review". hollywoodreporter.com.
- ^ Fisher, Luchina (18 April 2014). "Why JFK Refused to Let Sammy Davis Jr. Perform at White House". abcnews.go.com.
- ^ Sinatra, N. (1986). Frank Sinatra my father. New York: Pocket Books.
- ^ "Author Tracey Davis, daughter of Sammy Davis Jr., dies at 59". Today.com. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Tracey Davis, Chronicler of Ups and Downs With Her Famous Father, Dies at 59". The New York Times. The Associated Press. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
External links
[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
