Although possibly best remembered for her siren role in Pickup on South Street (1953), Peters was known for her resistance to being turned into a sex symbol.

[1] Late in her career, and after her retirement, Peters occasionally played roles in TV productions, appearing in four from 1973 to 1988.

[4] As her agent, Robinson accompanied Peters to Hollywood, and helped her secure a seven-year contract with Fox.

[5]) Fox announced that in her first film I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (1947), she would play an "ugly duckling", supported by "artificial freckles and horn-rimmed glasses".

Leonard Maltin wrote that afterwards, Peters spent the new decade playing "sexy spitfires, often in period dramas and Westerns.

She was named among the best five 'finds' of the year, among Barbara Bel Geddes, Valli, Richard Widmark and Wanda Hendrix.

Peters next starred alongside Paul Douglas in the period film Love That Brute (1950), for which she had to wear a dress so snug she was unable to sit.

[14] A Long Beach newspaper reported that Peters gained her role by impressing Jean Negulesco with her sewing.

[15] She once became famous for playing a simple country girl, but as she grew up, the studio did not find her any more suitable roles.

[16] At her insistence, Peters was given the title role in Anne of the Indies (1951), which the press declared was the film that finally brought her stardom.

[18] Peters was set to play the title role in the drama film Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie (1952).

In 1953, director Samuel Fuller chose Peters over Marilyn Monroe for the part of Candy in Pickup on South Street.

[22] For Pickup on South Street, Peters was advised to bleach her hair, but she refused to do so, wanting to avoid comparisons with Winters and Grable.

She said: "Pickup on South Street was fine for my career, but that doesn't mean I'm going to put on a tight sweater and skirt and slither around.

[22] She said: A clothes horse seldom has lines or situations that pierce the outer layer and get into the core of life.

I often think our glamorization of Hollywood stars – the perpetual photographing us in ermine and bouffant tulle, in French bathing suits or sleek satin – throws the public off.

Because I like to get away from all that and down to the heart of things I choose such characters as Josefa, or Anne, or Louise, the girl in Lure of the Wilderness.

In Niagara, Peters replaced Anne Baxter, with whom she co-starred in the anthology film O. Henry's Full House (1952).

[18] Peters's character was initially the leading role, but the film eventually became a vehicle for Monroe, who was by that time more successful.

Writer Leo Townsend bought the story of the film, a remake of I Wake Up Screaming, as a vehicle for Peters.

"[29] Next, Peters was assigned to replace Crain in the film Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), which was shot on location in late 1953 in Italy.

One critic praised her for "giving an excellent account for herself", declaring she was "on her way to becoming one of the finest young actresses around Hollywood today.

In 1970, rumors arose of Peters making a comeback to acting when the press reported that she was considering three film offers and a weekly TV series for the 1970–1971 season.

I ran into my old friend Ross Hunter, who was producing The Moneychangers for NBC-TV, and he asked me if I wanted to be in it.

After landing a contract in Hollywood, Peters moved there, where she initially lived with her aunt, Melba Diesel.

[9] One biographer recalled: "In all the research and planning that went into this book, no one ever had an unkind word to say of Miss Peters, and that is unusual.

[23] Other actors she befriended during her career were Joseph Cotten, David Niven, Ray Milland, Marie McDonald, and especially Jeanne Crain.

[34] There was much talk of Peters possibly retiring from the screen, but the actress insisted that after her eight-week leave from Fox, she was to return to Hollywood.

"[47] It was later reported that during the marriage, Peters was frequently involved in activities such as charitable work, arts and crafts, and university studies including psychology and anthropology at UCLA.

She agreed to a lifetime alimony payment of $70,000 ($530,000 today) annually, adjusted for inflation, and she waived all claims to Hughes's estate, then worth several billion dollars.