biography
Born on January 8, 1942, in Hollywood (her birth date is sometimes given as 1937 and 1939), actress Yvette Mimieux was born to a French father and a
Mexican mother and grew up in Hollywood. Maturing into a gorgeous teenager, Mimieux was a beauty contestant and sometime model when she was discovered
and signed to an MGM contract in 1959. An early first marriage at 17 to husband Evan Engber was kept under wraps by MGM. The marriage quickly cratered
and eventually they divorced in the mid 1960s.  
LEFT: Yvette Mimieux was just 18 years old when this production still from Platinum High School was shot. CENTER: Looking gorgeous in this 1960 MGM photo. RIGHT: Early 1960s promotional photoInitially, Mimieux met with much success in her acting career. Her first film for MGM was the low-budget exploitation flick Platinum High School (1960; with Mickey Rooney and Terry Moore) but soon moved into such "A" pictures as The Time Machine (1960; with Rod Taylor and Alan Young) and Where the Boys Are (1960; with Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss). Both pictures performed very well at the box office, but her subsequent films for MGM, including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962; with Glenn Ford), Diamond Head (1963; with Charlton Heston and George Chakiris), and Toys in the Attic (1963; with Dean Martin and Geraldine Page), were box-office failures. Following the release of Joy in the Morning (1965; with Richard Chamberlain), MGM dropped Mimieux's contract. Unlike many of her contemporaries, in the 1960s she mostly shied away from television and continued with her film career in Monkeys, Go Home! (1967; with Dean Jones), The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1967; with Stephen Boyd), and Dark of the Sun (1968; with Rod Taylor). By 1970, however, Mimieux began working in television extensively, beginning with the short-lived series The Most Deadly Game (1970-1971; with George Maharis) and in made-for-television films. Of her 1970s output, her best known theatrical release is the low-budget shocker Jackson County Jail (1976; with Tommy Lee Jones). |
the films of yvette mimieuxPlatinum High School (1960)
With Mickey Rooney in Albert Zugsmith's fun MGM exploitation quickie Platinum High School, Mimieux's first filmLight in the Piazza (1962)
Yvette Mimieux portrays Clara, a mentally challenged young woman who falls in love with Italian George Hamilton in the MGM romance Light in the PiazzaThe Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)
With Russ Tamblyn in the MGM fantasy The Wonderful World of the Brothers GrimmDiamond Head (1963)
With James Darren in the Columbia romance Diamond HeadToys in the Attic (1963)
Mimieux stars as the child bride of Dean Martin in the gritty drama Toys in the AtticJoy in the Morning (1965)
Mimieux and Richard Chamberlain star as newlyweds with seemingly insurmountable problems in the MGM period romance Joy in the Morning. By all accounts, Chamberlain and Mimieux had a poor working relationship on this pictureThe Reward (1965) 
LEFT: From the 20th Century Fox western The Reward with Efrem Zimbalist Jr. RIGHT: With Max Von SydowThe Caper of the Golden Bulls (1967)
With Stephen Boyd in the comedy The Caper of the Golden BullsMonkeys, Go Home! (1967)
From the Disney family film Monkeys, Go Home! with Dean JonesThree in the Attic (1968)
Mimieux, along with Judy Pace and Maggie Thrett, unite against unfaithful Christopher Jones in the 1960s counterculture flick Three in the Attic, released by American InternationalThe Delta Factor (1970) 
LEFT: With Christopher George in the crime drama The Delta Factor, shot mostly in Tennessee. RIGHT: Mimieux is menaced by Joseph SirolaThe Most Deadly Game (1970-1971 ABC TV Series)
Mimieux starred alongside George Maharis and Ralph Bellamy in the ABC series The Most Deady GameSkyjacked (1972)
From the big-budget MGM disaster flick Skyjacked with Mike HenryThe Neptune Factor (1973)
Mimieux stars alongside Ben Gazzara in the Canadian-made science fiction flick The Neptune Factor, released by 20th Century FoxJackson County Jail (1976)
From the low-budget shocker Jackson County Jail, produced by Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Thsi cult favorite was shot for less than $500,000 and made more than five times that amount at the box officeRansom for Alice! (1977)
With Gil Gerard in the NBC made-for-TV period thriller Ransom for Alice!Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978)
From the CBS made-for-TV horror flick Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell with Richard Crenna. This film originally aired on Halloween in 1978Forbidden Love (1982)
With Andrew Stevens in the CBS made-for-TV romance Forbidden Lovelater yearsMimieux married "A" list MGM musicals film director Stanley Donen, who was 18 years her senior, in 1972. The couple parted ways in 1985. She wrote the screenplay for her made-for-television film Hit Lady (1974; with Joseph Campanella and Clu Gulager) and wrote the original story for her starring role in the made-for-television film Obsessive Love (1984; with Simon MacCorkindale), for which she also served as co-producer. Following her December 1986 marriage to real estate mogul Howard Ruby, Mimieux retreated from her acting career, finally throwing in the towel in 1992 after more than 30 years as an actress. Sadly, Yvette Mimieux passed away on January 18, 2022 in her sleep at age 80. She is survived by her husband, Howard Ruby. |
filmography
FILM
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This page premiered May 8, 2013.
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