May Britt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids May Britt
Britt in the 1960s
Born	May Britt Wilkens (1934-03-22) 22 March 1934 (age 91) Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1952–1988
Spouse(s)	Edwin Gregson ​ ​ (m. 1958; div. 1959)​ Sammy Davis Jr. ​ ​ (m. 1960; div. 1968)​ Lennart Ringquist ​ ​ (m. 1993; his death 2017)​
Children	3

May Britt (born May Britt Wilkens on March 22, 1934) is a Swedish actress. She became famous in the 1950s, first in Italy and then in the United States. She was also married to the well-known American singer and actor Sammy Davis Jr..

Becoming an Actress

Britt in Cavalleria rusticana (1953)

Britt in L'ultimo amante (1955)

May Britt was discovered when she was a teenager in 1951. She was working as an assistant to a photographer in Stockholm, Sweden. Two Italian filmmakers, Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati, were looking for a young blonde actress. They visited the studio where May Britt worked to see photos of models.

When they met her, they offered her a role in a movie! May Britt then moved to Rome, Italy. Her first movie was Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair (1952), where she played the main character.

Movies in Italy and Hollywood

After her first movie, May Britt acted in about ten more films in Italy. One of her most famous Italian movies was the epic film War and Peace (1956).

In the late 1950s, May Britt moved to Hollywood in the United States. She signed a contract with a big movie studio called 20th Century Fox. She starred in several American movies, including:

• The Young Lions (1958) with famous actors Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift.
• The Hunters (1958) with Robert Mitchum and Robert Wagner.
• Murder, Inc. (1960) with Peter Falk.

She also played a main role in The Blue Angel (1959). This movie was a remake of a very famous film from 1930.

Marriage and Family Life

May Britt married a college student named Edwin Gregson in 1958, but they divorced in 1959.

Marriage to Sammy Davis Jr.

In 1959, May Britt met the famous American entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.. They started dating and got married on November 13, 1960. Their marriage was a big topic of discussion at the time.

At that time, laws in many U.S. states made it illegal for people of different races to marry. These laws were called "interracial marriage" laws. It wasn't until 1967 that the U.S. Supreme Court said these laws were against the country's constitution.

Before their wedding, May Britt became Jewish. She and Sammy Davis Jr. were married by a rabbi. After getting married, May Britt stopped making movies to focus on her family.

Children and Later Life

May Britt and Sammy Davis Jr. had one daughter named Tracey (born in 1961). They also adopted two sons, Mark Sidney (born 1960) and Jeff (born 1963).

After her divorce from Sammy Davis Jr., May Britt started acting again sometimes. She made guest appearances on television shows until 1988. Since then, she has been retired from acting. She enjoys painting and lives in California. Her third husband, Lennart Ringquist, passed away in 2017.

Selected Filmography

See also

In Spanish: May Britt (actriz) para niños