Dovima Bio

Dovima appeared in 1957's Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. The musical was loosely based on Richard Avedon. In fact Avedon shot the fashion pictures that appear in the film, and the photographer that Astaire plays is named "Dick Avery". Dovima plays ditzy fashions model Marion. She has only a few scenes, but comes off very funny and glamorous. She decided to pursue acting and enrolled in Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio. She appeared onThe Phil Silvers Show, Dr. Kildare, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., My Favorite Martian, Bewitched, The Danny Kaye Show, Kraft Suspense Theater, and The Art Linkletter Show. Despite these appearances, she never really caught on as an actor.

She announced her retirement from modeling in 1959, but actually posed until 1962. Of retiring, Dovima said, "I didn't want to wait until the camera turned cruel." Unfortunately she hadn't saved any of her money. When the TV appearances dried up, she spent the late sixties and early seventies working as a spokesperson for Qiana, a clothing line. In 1974, she moved to Ft. Lauderdale to be near her parents and held various jobs like selling cosmetics and hosting at restaurants. She fell in love with a co-worker, bartender West Hollingsworth with whom she had twelve happy years. They married in 1983, but Hollingsworth died of cancer in 1986. It was a devastating blow to her and she never really recovered.

In 1984 she went to work for The Two Guys Pizzeria as a hostess. She said she worked with nice people and was the mascot for their softball team. She enjoyed her status as kind of local celebrity. She commented in 1987, "The only 'has been' is one who has been. You have to Have Been in order to be a has been." She died of liver cancer on May 3, 1990. What she left behind are photographs that are a part of our culture. Images that speak of a time and a dream, that somehow speak volumes yet nothing at the same time.