Actress. She is best remembered for her role of 'Ann Darrow', in the classic fantasy monster movie "King Kong" (1933). She was also one of the first of Hollywood's "Scream Queens." Born Vina Fay Wray in Cardston, Alberta, Canada, she grew up in both Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California, where she started as an extra in her teens, occasionally cast as the silent heroine in Western films. In 1926, she was selected as one of 13 actresses that the movie studios deemed had "star" potential, along with Janet Gaynor and Mary Astor. She became noticed to audiences with her role in "The Wedding March" (1928), and continued to make westerns, and branching into horror films, such as "Doctor X" (1932), and "The Vampire Bat" (1933). However, her best-remembered film turned out to be playing against an ape, in "King Kong" (1933). Her sex appeal and vulnerability in this role made her a star, and as the movie became a classic, made her name synonymous with the film. After this, her career began a slow slide, keeping her in low-budget films through the 1930s and into the early 1940s. In 1939, she divorced her husband of 11 years, John Monk Saunders, to remarry three years later to Robert Riskin, a brilliant Hollywood screenwriter who would suffer a stroke in 1950, from which he would not recover, passing away in 1955. Her last marriage was to her family physician, Doctor Sanford Rothenberg, in 1970, which would last until his death in 1991. She continued to make movies, including "Treasure of the Golden Condor" (1953), as well as a host of less-remembered movies. Her last appearance was in a made-for-television movie, "Gideon's Trumpet" (1980). In 1988, she wrote her autobiography "On the Other Hand." In 2003, she was awarded the "Legend in Film" Award at the Palm Beach International Film Festival.
Actress. She is best remembered for her role of 'Ann Darrow', in the classic fantasy monster movie "King Kong" (1933). She was also one of the first of Hollywood's "Scream Queens." Born Vina Fay Wray in Cardston, Alberta, Canada, she grew up in both Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California, where she started as an extra in her teens, occasionally cast as the silent heroine in Western films. In 1926, she was selected as one of 13 actresses that the movie studios deemed had "star" potential, along with Janet Gaynor and Mary Astor. She became noticed to audiences with her role in "The Wedding March" (1928), and continued to make westerns, and branching into horror films, such as "Doctor X" (1932), and "The Vampire Bat" (1933). However, her best-remembered film turned out to be playing against an ape, in "King Kong" (1933). Her sex appeal and vulnerability in this role made her a star, and as the movie became a classic, made her name synonymous with the film. After this, her career began a slow slide, keeping her in low-budget films through the 1930s and into the early 1940s. In 1939, she divorced her husband of 11 years, John Monk Saunders, to remarry three years later to Robert Riskin, a brilliant Hollywood screenwriter who would suffer a stroke in 1950, from which he would not recover, passing away in 1955. Her last marriage was to her family physician, Doctor Sanford Rothenberg, in 1970, which would last until his death in 1991. She continued to make movies, including "Treasure of the Golden Condor" (1953), as well as a host of less-remembered movies. Her last appearance was in a made-for-television movie, "Gideon's Trumpet" (1980). In 1988, she wrote her autobiography "On the Other Hand." In 2003, she was awarded the "Legend in Film" Award at the Palm Beach International Film Festival.
Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson
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Fay Wray
1907-2004
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