Inside Stella Stevens' relationship with son Andrew she had at 15 & the Playboy shoot used against her in custody fight
ACTRESS Stella Stevens, a superstar during the 1960s and '70s who illuminated movie screens with her alluring physique and radiant touch, died on Friday at age 84.
The Golden Globe-winning actress died in Los Angeles while in hospice after a battle with Alzheimer's, her son revealed.
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According to her son, actor-producer-director Andrew Stevens, his mother had been in hospice for "quite some time with Stage 7 Alzheimer's."
Discovered in Memphis by 20th Century Fox, Stevens' voluptuous figure and pazazz made her an instant star in Hollywood.
She shinned bright in light comedies such as The Nutty Professor, The Poseidon Adventure, Girls! Girls! Girls!, and The Courtship of Eddie's Father, among others.
However, during the mid-60s, Stevens was dropped from her contract at 20th Century Fox.
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The blonde, blue-eyed actress turned to Playboy, appearing in the magazine three times.
Stevens opened up about how she regretted the nude photoshoot after the flicks were used against her in her yearslong custody battle with her ex-husband, Noble Herman Stephens.
Stevens married Stephens at the tender age of 15.
Their son, Andrew, was born in 1955 when Stevens was 16, and a year later, their marriage ended in divorce.
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Stevens explained how she turned to Playboy to support her son.
“I did the best I could with the tools I had and the opportunities given me,” she was once quoted saying, according to Deadline.
“I was a divorced mom with a toddler by the time I was 17, and Playboy did as much harm as it helped. But in spite of that rough start, I did OK."
Although, Playboy didn't hurt her movie career after Paramount signed her and cast her as the mistress Appassionata Von Climax in 1959's Li’l Abner.
In 1960, she played a deaf-mute character during an episode of Bonanza and, the following year, starred as the nymphomaniac wife of Jeffrey Hunter in the heist film Man-Trap.
Steves went on to direct, write, and produce films, and in 1989 directed her son Andrew in the movie The Ranch.
She had one of her most recent roles in 2005's Popstar, which her son executively produced.
She's survived by her son Andrew and three grandchildren, Amelia, Aubrey, and Samuel.
Her partner of almost 40 years, Bob Kulick, a successful rock guitarist, died in 2020.
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