Phyllis Lucille Gates (December 7, 1925 – January 4, 2006) was an American secretary and interior decorator, known for her three-year marriage to the actor Rock Hudson.

[2] Early in her life, she worked as a sales clerk in a department store, airline stewardess, and secretary for a New York City talent agent, before moving to Hollywood to work for Hollywood talent agent Henry Willson, who represented actors Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter and Rory Calhoun.

They started dating some time later and were married in Santa Barbara, California, on November 9, 1955, shortly after he finished filming Giant.

[3] However, the author and journalist Robert Hofler wrote in the biography The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson: "Those who knew her (Gates) say she was a lesbian who tried to blackmail her movie star husband (Hudson)" or "She then became addicted to being the wife of a star, and didn't want the divorce (...) Phyllis could play around with women, but Rock had to remain faithful to her.

"[citation needed] This was disputed by Gates in an interview with Larry King in which she also said that she had been the one to initiate the divorce based on her husband's behavior.