Best known for her portrayal of ingénues, Dee earned a Golden Globe Award as one of the year's most promising newcomers for her performance in Robert Wise's Until They Sail (1957).

She became a teenage star for her performances in Imitation of Life, Gidget and A Summer Place (all released in 1959), which made her a household name.

[8] It should be noted per census records for 1950,[9] Sandra was living as a great-granddaughter of Archie Wanko along with her mother as granddaughter Mary Zuck (divorced) on Avenue A in Bayonne, NJ working as a secretary in real estate office.

A 1950 article notes she was part of a group of students who performed for a Polio fund raiser in NYC at Carnegie Hall.

An article in 1956 reports she is on her way to Hollywood (Ross Hunter) and it was her late father (actually step-father) who launched her on the modeling career and that she was making $120 a day (approx.

[14] Mr. Douvan's application for citizenship reveals his history of immigrating to USA, alias used, Eugene George Stewart also Frederick Von Bergner that he was living in Roosevelt, Nassau County NY at the time (application is made in Brooklyn NY)[15] Various ads he placed in Bayonne newspapers advertised he was available for construction and real estate work.

[16] Producer Ross Hunter claimed to have discovered Dee on Park Avenue in New York City with her mother when she was 12 years old.

[2] In a 1959 interview, Dee recalled that she "grew up fast," surrounded mostly by older people, and was "never held back in anything [she] wanted to do.

Having lost weight, her body was unable to digest any food that she ate, and it took the help of a doctor to regain her health.

"[17] Despite the damaging effects on her health, Dee earned $75,000 in 1956 (equivalent to $840,000 in 2023) working as a child model in New York, which she used to support herself and her mother after the death of her stepfather in 1956.

[19] MGM cast Dee as the female lead in The Reluctant Debutante (1958), with John Saxon as her romantic costar.

The stress of her newfound success and the effects of sexual abuse, caused Dee to struggle with chronic anorexia nervosa, and her kidneys temporarily failed.

[11] In 1958, Dee signed with Universal Pictures and was one of the company's last contract players prior to the dissolution of the studio system.

[20] She had a lead role in The Restless Years (1958) for producer Ross Hunter, opposite Saxon and Teresa Wright.

[22] Universal next cast Dee as a tomboy opposite Audie Murphy in the Western romantic comedy The Wild and the Innocent (1959).

[23] Warner Bros. borrowed her for another melodrama in the vein of Imitation of Life, A Summer Place (1959), opposite Troy Donahue as her romantic costar.

The film was a massive hit, and that year American box office exhibitors voted Dee the 16th-most popular star in the country.

[24] Hunter reunited Dee with Turner and Saxon in Universal's Portrait in Black (1960), a thriller that was a financial success despite receiving harsh reviews.

[24] Peter Ustinov cast her as the lead in the Cold War comedy Romanoff and Juliet (1961) with Universal's new heartthrob John Gavin, reuniting them from Imitation of Life.

She was reunited with Darin in That Funny Feeling (1965) before appearing in her last film at Universal under her contract with the spy comedy A Man Could Get Killed (1966).

[32] In a 1967 interview with Roger Ebert, she reflected on her experience in the studio system and on the ingénue image that had been foisted on her, which she found constricting: Look at this––[a] cigarette.

So out in Hollywood the studio press agents are still pulling cigarettes out of my hand and covering my drink with a napkin whenever my picture is taken.

[35] Throughout the 1970s, Dee took sporadic guest-starring roles on episodes of several television series, such as Night Gallery, Fantasy Island[3] and Police Woman.

[38]Dee battled anorexia nervosa, depression, and alcoholism for many years, hitting a low point after her mother died of lung cancer on December 27, 1987, at age 63.

Dee stated that for months she became a recluse living on soup, crackers and Scotch, with her body weight falling to only 80 pounds (36 kg).

Her mental and physical condition improved, and she expressed a desire to appear in a television situation comedy, partly in order to belong to a family.