Beverly Adams

Adams was born in Alberta, Canada,^[2] but is a citizen of the United States.^[3] She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Adams.^[1] Raised Roman Catholic, she moved with her family to Burbank, California after the war where, as a teen, she competed in and won beauty contests before becoming an actress.^[4][5] She began working as a model while she was a student at Valley State College.^[2]

Adams, who initially wanted to become a doctor, had a weekend job in a dress shop while she worked during the week as secretary to a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles. When the dress shop had a fashion show televised, Adams modeled some of the dresses. An advertising man saw her modeling on that broadcast and invited her to make a commercial at a local television station. Ozzie Nelson was at the station at the same time, and he invited her to play a bit part in an episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.^[1]

Adams appeared in various guest roles in television series of the 1960s, including a recurring role on the Dr. Kildare TV series. She was selected for Columbia Pictures' New Talent Program and was signed to a contract where she appeared on several Screen Gems television series and several films, including the recurring role of Lovey Kravezit in the Matt Helm movies starring Dean Martin.^[6]

After appearing uncredited in two films with Elvis Presley, Roustabout and Girl Happy, she played the redheaded Cassandra in How to Stuff a Wild Bikini

During her retirement from acting, Adams, going by her married name of Beverly Sassoon, published several books and served as a spokeswoman for Vidal Sassoon, Inc.^[2]

She launched her own line of pet care products, Beverly Sassoon Pet Care System.^[7]

Adams met hairstylist Vidal Sassoon when she was sent to his London salon while she was filming Torture Garden. They married on February 16, 1967,^[2] and Adams retired from acting, after fulfilling a commitment to appear in Irving Allen's Hammerhead, to raise the couple's children.^{[citation needed]}

They had four children:^[8] daughter Catya, an actress who died from a drug-induced heart attack; son Elan BenVidal ;^[9][10] son David;^[11] and daughter Eden Sassoon.^[11] In 1981, the couple divorced, and Adams returned to acting. She married a matador, Antonio Migoni, but the marriage was annulled. Adams later married Philip Neal, whom she described as "the love of my life".^[2] Neal died in 2004.

In November 2022, Adams was profiled in Classic Images, where she discussed her onscreen career.^[12]

• Beverly Adams at IMDb
• Beverly Adams at AllMovie