Carole Landis (born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste; January 1, 1919 – July 5, 1948) was an American actress and singer.

[6] At the age of 15, Landis dropped out of San Bernardino High School and set forth on a career path to show business.

[2] She continued appearing in bit parts until 1940, when Hal Roach cast her as a cave girl in One Million B.C..[9] The movie was a sensation and turned Landis into a star.

In a time when the singing of many actresses was dubbed in, Landis's own voice was considered good enough and was used in her few musical roles.

She had roles playing opposite fellow pin-up girl Betty Grable in the musical Moon Over Miami and crime drama I Wake Up Screaming, both in 1941.

[citation needed] In 1945 she starred on Broadway in the musical A Lady Says Yes, with future novelist Jacqueline Susann in a small role.

Susann is said to have based the character of Jennifer North, from her best-selling novel Valley of the Dolls, in part on Landis.

[citation needed] Landis wrote several newspaper and magazine articles about her experiences during the war, including the 1944 book Four Jills in a Jeep, which was later made into a movie costarring Kay Francis, Martha Raye, and Mitzi Mayfair.

"[9][18] During her separation from Schmidlapp, Landis began a relationship with actor Rex Harrison, who was then married to actress Lilli Palmer.

[19] After Landis's death, however, Harrison downplayed their relationship and publicly claimed that she was merely a close friend of himself and Palmer.

Unable to cope any longer, on July 5, 1948,[9] she died by suicide in her Pacific Palisades home at 1465 Capri Drive by taking an overdose of Seconal.

[23] According to some sources, Landis left two suicide notes, one for her mother and the second for Harrison, who instructed his lawyers to destroy it.

[25] She is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California, in plot 814 of the "Everlasting Love" section.