Linda Christian (born Blanca Rosa Henrietta Stella Welter Vorhauer; November 13, 1923 – July 22, 2011) was a Mexican film actress who appeared in Mexican and Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mara in the last Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan film Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948). She is also noted for being the first Bond girl, appearing in a 1954 television adaptation of the James Bond novel Casino Royale. In 1963, she starred as Eva Ashley in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour titled "An Out for Oscar".

Early life

Christian was born in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, a daughter of Dutch engineer and Royal Dutch Shell executive Gerardus Jacob Welter, and his Mexican-born wife, the former Blanca Rosa Vorhauer, who was of Spanish, German and French descent. The Welter family moved a great deal during Christian's youth, living everywhere from South America and Europe to the Middle East and Africa.

Career

In her youth, Christian's only aspiration was to become a physician. After she graduated from secondary school she had a fortuitous meeting with her screen idol Errol Flynn, who became her lover; he persuaded her to give up her hopes of joining the medical profession, move to Hollywood, and pursue an acting career.

Her stage name was invented by Flynn, who gave her the surname of Fletcher Christian of Mutiny on the Bounty fame. Flynn had played Fletcher Christian in a 1933 Australian film.

In his autobiography My Wicked, Wicked Ways, Flynn states that immediately after Linda Christian's screen test, he offered to pay for her to have a couple of crooked teeth fixed. When he got a whopping bill, he discovered that she had taken the opportunity to undergo major cosmetic dentistry. Years later, when he met her again, he said, "Smile, baby – I want to see those choppers: they took their first bite out of me."

thumb|Christian with [[Andrea Palma (actress)|Andrea Palma in Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948)]]

She made her film debut in the 1944 musical comedy Up in Arms, co-starring Danny Kaye and Dinah Shore. This movie also happened to be Danny Kaye's own first film.

Marriages and relationships

thumb|left|upright|Christian in 1966

Christian's fame, however, was largely derived from being married to the popular screen idol Tyrone Power She and Power were the parents of singer Romina Power and actress Taryn Power. Romina was one half of the Italian singing duo Al Bano and Romina Power.

A month after she divorced Tyrone Power, Christian was seen with Spanish racing driver Alfonso de Portago, who was married to American Carroll de Portago (later Carroll Petrie). Carroll had recently given birth to "Fon's" second child Anthony. De Portago was dating model Dorian Leigh, mother of his recently born illegitimate son Kim. Linda was photographed with de Portago at the 1957 Mille Miglia car race. The photo shows Christian leaning in to kiss Fon before he started the race, in which he would crash his Ferrari, killing himself, his navigator Ed Nelson, and nine spectators. The press labeled the photo "The Kiss of Death". De Portago was 28 years old. Her ex-husband, Tyrone Power, died the following year of a heart attack at the age of 44. Christian was later married to the Rome-based British actor Edmund Purdom.

Death

Christian died on July 22, 2011, at the age of 87.

  • Canadian actress Sarah Gadon portrayed Christian in the 2023 biopic Ferrari.

Selected filmography

Two items appear in this article's introductory paragraph which are not in the following list.

  • The Rock of Souls (1942) (credited as Linda Welter)
  • Up in Arms (1944) as Goldwyn Girl (uncredited)
  • Holiday in Mexico (1946) as Angel (uncredited)
  • Green Dolphin Street (1947) as Hine-Moa
  • Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948) as Mara
  • The Happy Time (1952) as Mignonette Chappius
  • Athena (1954) as Beth Hallson
  • Thunderstorm (1956) as Maria Ramon
  • Peter Voss, Hero of the Day (1959) as Grace McNaughty
  • The House of the Seven Hawks (1959) as Elsa
  • The Devil's Hand (1962) as Bianca Milan
  • The V.I.P.s (1963) as Miriam Marshall
  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1963) (Season 1 Episode 26: "An Out for Oscar") as Eva Ashley
  • The Beauty Jungle (1964) as Self, Rose of England Judge (uncredited)
  • Full Hearts and Empty Pockets (1964) as Minelli
  • The Moment of Truth (1965) as Linda, American Woman
  • How to Seduce a Playboy (1966) as Lucy's Mother
  • 10:32 (1966) as Ellen Martens

Bibliography

  • Christian, Linda. Linda, My Own Story. New York: Crown Publishers (1962).

References

Sources