Laurette Luez (born Loretta Mary Luiz; August 19, 1928 – September 12, 1999) was an American supporting actress and successful commercial model who appeared in films and on television during a 20-year career.
[1] She is best known for her supporting role as photographic model Marla Rakubian in Rudolph Maté's 1950 film noir D.O.A..[2] Luez born in Honolulu, Hawaii, as the second child of the three children of Frank and Francesca Luiz (née Clancy), vaudeville singers and dancers who performed traditional Hawaiian and Spanish music.
That same year, six-year-old Loretta performed for Sultan Ibrahim of Johor, who was known as one of the wealthiest men in the world at that time.
[citation needed] In 1949, she participated in a later famous Life magazine photo layout, in which she posed with other up-and-coming actresses, Marilyn Monroe, Lois Maxwell, Cathy Downs, Suzanne Dalbert, Enrica Soma and Jane Nigh.
In 1956, she appeared in another exotic slave-girl role as Karamaneh in the syndicated TV series The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu.