Biography for
Diana Dors More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

23 October 1931, Swindon, Wiltshire, England, UK

Date of Death

4 May 1984, Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK (stomach cancer)

Birth Name

Diana Mary Fluck

Nickname

The Siren of Swindon
Hurricane in Mink
Dorsy

Mini Biography

Diana Dors was promoted as "The English Marilyn Monroe". She had the blonde hair and the curves but in fact she began her career long before Marilyn and Diana could act better as well. The daughter of a Railway worker, she trained at The Royal Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (RAMDA) and appeared on stage while still quite a young girl. She appeared in her first film at the age of 15, mainly in "sexy-girl in background" roles.

She graduated to more important dramatic roles and continued to play quite weighty roles such as the ex-wife of Peter Sellers in There's a Girl in My Soup (1970) and a series of still sexy, older ladies.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Crook

Mini Biography

Diana Dors was born on October 23, 1931 in Swindon, England. Diana and her mother both nearly died from the traumatic birth. Because of the trauma, her mother lavished on Diana, anything and everything she wanted. Clothes, toys, and dance lessons were the order of the day. Diana's love of films came when her mother took her to the local movies theaters. The actresses on the screen caught Diana's attention and she said, herself, that from the age of three she wanted to be an actress. She was educated in the finest private schools, much to the chagrin of her father. Apparently, he thought private education was a waste of money. Physically, Diana grew up fast. At 12 years old, she looked and acted much older than what she was. Much of this was due to the actresses she studied on the silver screen and Diana wanted to emulate them. Diana wanted nothing more than to go to the United States and Hollywood to have a chance to make her place in film history. After placing well in a local beauty contest, Diana was offered a part in a thespian group. She was thirteen. The following year Diana enrolled in an acting school to hone her acting skills. She was the youngest in her class. Her first fling at the camera was in THE SHOP AT SLY CORNER in 1947. Diana didn't care that it was a small, uncredited part. She was on film and at the age of 16, that's all that mattered. That was quickly followed by DANCING WITH CRIME which consisted nothing more than a walk-on role. Up until this time, Diana had pretended to be 17 years old. If the producers knew her true age, they, probably wouldn't have let her test for the part. Since she looked and acted older this was no problem. 1948 dawned bright for Diana. She appeared in no less than six films for the silver screen. Some were uncredited and some had some meat to the roles. The best of the lot was the role of Charlotte in the classic, OLIVER TWIST. Throughout the fifties she appeared in more films and became more popular in Britain. Diana was a pleasant version of Marilyn Monroe who had taken the US by storm. Now Britain had their own version. She continued to play sexy sirens and filled the British theaters. Diana really came into her own as an actress. She was more than a woman who exuded her sexy side. She was a very fine actress as her films showed. As the sixties turned into the seventies, she began to play more mature roles with an effectiveness that was hard to match. Films such as THE AMOROUS MILKMAN (1972), CRAZE (1973), and THREE FOR ALL (1974), dotted her resume. After filming STEAMING in 1982, Diana was diagnosed with cancer. It was too much for her to overcome. The British were saddened when word came of her death on May 4, 1984 in Berkshire, England, UK. She was just 53 years old. STEAMING was released the following year.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson

Spouse

Alan Lake	(23 November 1968 - 4 May 1984) (her death) 1 child
Richard Dawson	(12 April 1959 - 1966) (divorced) 2 children
Dennis Hamilton	(3 July 1951 - 31 January 1959) (his death; they had begun divorce proceedings in 1958)

Trivia

Son, with Lake, Jason

Sons, with Dawson, Mark and Gary

In her final years, Diana spent a lot of time working for various religious and charity groups.

In 1972, she joined a campaign aimed at allowing prisoners to have sexual intercourse with their wives, in jail.

In 1974, she contracted meningitis but miraculously survived. 8 years later she was diagnosed as having cancer from which she died in 1984.

Diana Dors appears on the cover of the Smiths' 1995 compilation album, Singles.

Featured on the cover of The Beatles' album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967)

Her third and last husband, Alan Lake, committed suicide five months after her death.

A tribute to Diana Dors, "Good Day", was written by Ray Davies after her death and is included on The Kinks' Word Of Mouth CD.

Measurements: 36 1/2D-24-35 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

At age twenty she was the youngest registered owner of a Rolls Royce in the country.

Appears as the "Fairy Godmother" in the Adam Ant music video for "Prince Charming".

Personal Quotes

"The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."

"I said to this priest: 'Am I expected to believe that if I went out and had an affair that God was really going to be upset? Okay, thou shalt not kill... steal... but thou shalt not commit adultery? If no one is any the wiser, what the hell difference does it make?' He was lovely. He told me the Commandments were laid down for a lot of guys living in the desert."

"I was the first home-grown sex symbol, rather like Britain's naughty seaside postcards. When Marilyn Monroe's first film was shown here [The Asphalt Jungle (1950)], a columnist actually wrote: 'How much like our Diana Dors she is'."

Salary

Value for Money (1955)

£ 5,000

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