May Britt, actress and former wife of Sammy Davis Jr, d!es aged 91

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May Britt, the Swedish-born actress whose Hollywood career and personal life placed her at the center of one of America’s most controversial interracial marriages, has died at the age of 91.

Her son, Mark Davis, confirmed that she died of natural causes on December 11 at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Moved to Hollywood in the 1950s
Born Maj-Britt Wilkens on March 22, 1934, in Lidingö, outside Stockholm, she grew up far from the glamour of international cinema.

Her path to stardom began unexpectedly while she was working as an assistant to a photographer in Stockholm, Sweden. There, in the early 1950s, she was discovered by Italian filmmakers Mario Soldati and Carlo Ponti, who were searching for a fresh, unconventional young actress.