[1] After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic acting performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood's most promising newcomers, being compared favorably with the late Marilyn Monroe.

[2][3] The role would help her to become a rising sex symbol of Hollywood, appearing in a Playboy photoshoot by filmmaker Roman Polanski, Tate's future husband.

As she matured, people commented on Tate's appearance; she began entering beauty pageants, winning the title of "Miss Richland" in Washington in 1959 at age sixteen.

With her family relocating to Verona, Tate learned that she had become a local celebrity owing to the publication of a photograph of her in a swimsuit on the cover of the military newspaper Stars and Stripes.

She discovered a kinship with other students at the American school she attended in nearby Vicenza, recognizing that their backgrounds and feelings of separation were similar to her own, and, for the first time in her life, began to form lasting friendships.

Ransohoff gave Tate small parts in Mister Ed and The Beverly Hillbillies to help her gain experience, but was unwilling to allow her to play a more substantial role.

Polanski was planning The Fearless Vampire Killers, which was being coproduced by Ransohoff, and had decided that he wanted the red-headed actress Jill St. John for the female lead.

The film opened to poor reviews and mediocre ticket sales, and Tate was quoted as confiding to a reporter, "It's a terrible movie", before adding, "Sometimes I say things I shouldn't.

"[8] Polanski returned to the United States and was contracted by the head of Paramount Pictures, Robert Evans, to direct and write the screenplay for Rosemary's Baby, which was based on Ira Levin's novel of the same name.

One of the all-time bestsellers, the film version was highly publicized and anticipated, and, while Tate acknowledged that such a prominent role should further her career, she confided to Polanski that she did not like either the book or the script.

Its 14 minutes consisted of a number of scenes depicting Tate filming Eye of the Devil, dancing in nightclubs, and sightseeing around London, and also contained a brief interview with her.

[17] Newsweek said that the film "has no more sense of its own ludicrousness than a village idiot stumbling in manure", but a later article read: "Astoundingly photogenic, infinitely curvaceous, Sharon Tate is one of the most smashing young things to hit Hollywood in a long time.

"[18] The three lead actresses were castigated in numerous publications, including The Saturday Review, which wrote, "Ten years ago ... Parkins, Duke, and Tate would more likely have been playing the hat check girls than movie-queens; they are totally lacking in style, authority, or charm.

"[8] The Hollywood Reporter provided some positive comments, such as, "Sharon Tate emerges as the film's most sympathetic character ... William H. Daniels' photographic caress of her faultless face and enormous absorbent eyes is stunning.

"[8] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised Tate as "a wonder to behold" but, after describing the dialogue in one scene as "the most offensive and appalling vulgarity ever thrown up by any civilization", concluded that, "I will be unable to take her any more seriously as a sex symbol than Raquel Welch.

[11] The couple returned to Los Angeles and quickly became part of a social group that included some of the most successful young people in the film industry, including Warren Beatty, Jacqueline Bisset, Leslie Caron, Joan Collins, Mia Farrow, Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda, Laurence Harvey, Steve McQueen, Joanna Pettet and Peter Sellers; older film stars such as Yul Brynner, Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda and Danny Kaye; musicians such as Jim Morrison and the Mamas & the Papas; and record producer Terry Melcher and his girlfriend Candice Bergen.

Tate and Polanski moved into the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles for a few months[14] until they arranged to lease Patty Duke's home on Summit Ridge Drive in Beverly Hills during the latter part of 1968.

[11] Tate was encouraged by the positive reviews of her comedic performances and chose the comedy The Thirteen Chairs (1969) as her next project, largely for the opportunity to co-star with Orson Welles.

Inside the house, the bodies of Tate and Sebring were found hanged on a support beam in the living room; a long rope tied around each of their necks connected them.

On Wednesday, August 13, Tate was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, with her son Paul Richard Polanski in her arms, named posthumously for his grandfathers.

Polanski was interviewed for the article and allowed himself to be photographed at the entrance of the house, next to the front door with the word "PIG" still visible, written in Tate's blood.

They explained that the motive for the murders was not the identity of the victims, but rather the house at that address, which had previously been rented to record producer Terry Melcher, an acquaintance of Manson.

[31] In the early 1980s, Stephen Kay, who had worked for the prosecution in the trial, became alarmed that Manson Family member Leslie Van Houten had gathered 900 signatures on a petition for her parole.

By this time Doris Tate had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and her health and strength were failing; her meeting with Bush marked her final public appearance.

He tried to explain his anguish after the murder of his wife and unborn son in his 1984 autobiography Roman by Polanski, saying, "Since Sharon's death, and despite appearances to the contrary, my enjoyment of life has been incomplete.

At the conclusion of the case, Polanski read a statement, saying in part, "The memory of my late wife Sharon Tate was at the forefront of my mind in bringing this action.

Maltin lauded the film as "near-brilliant" and Tate's work in Don't Make Waves and The Wrecking Crew as her two best performances, as well as the best indicators of the career she might have established.

The very fact that, today, victims or their families in California are able to sit before those convicted of a crime and have a voice in the sentencing at trials or at parole hearings, is largely due to the work of Doris [and Patti] Tate.

The art and fashion-based presentation showcased images of Tate's never-before-revealed wardrobe by designers such as Christian Dior, Thea Porter, Ossie Clark and Yves Saint Laurent.

She is also referenced by name in the poem "In the Hills of Benedict Canyon" by musician Lana Del Rey from her poetry collection Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass (2020).