Career

Maybritt Wilkens, as she was known originally, was discovered as a teenager by Italian filmmakers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati in 1951. She was then an assistant to a Stockholm photographer. The two filmmakers were in Sweden to cast a young blonde for the title role in Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair. They came to the studio where she worked to view photographs of models. After meeting her, they offered her the part. May Britt, as she was renamed professionally, moved to Rome. As expected, she made her movie debut as the leading actress in Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair (1952). In the following years she worked in some ten Cinecittà productions. She also featured in the epic film War and Peace of 1956. IMDB

In the late 1950s, Britt relocated to Hollywood after signing with 20th Century Fox. She starred in a few movies, including The Young Lions (1958) with Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift and Murder, Inc. (1960) with Peter Falk, as well as a much-criticized remake of The Blue Angel (1959) in the legendary role first created by Marlene Dietrich in 1930.

Marriage and retirement

She met Sammy Davis, Jr. in 1959. They began dating, and, after a brief engagement, were married on 13 November 1960. Their wedding caused controversy. A rumor or myth was that John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy told Frank Sinatra to tell Davis not to marry May until after the 1960 Presidential Election. At that time interracial marriage was forbidden by law in 31 U.S. states, and only in 1967 were those laws (by then down to 17 states) ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to the wedding, Britt converted to Judaism. The couple was married by Rabbi William M. Kramer.

Once married, Britt left the movies. She and Davis had one biological child, a daughter, Tracey (born 5 July 1961), and adopted two sons: Mark Sidney Davis (born 1960, adopted 4 June 1963) and Jeff (born 1963). They divorced in 1968 after Davis reportedly had an affair with dancer Lola Falana. After the divorce, Britt resumed working with sporadic TV guest appearances, the last in 1988. Since then she has been retired and mainly involved in painting. She currently resides in California with her third husband, Lennart Ringquist.

In popular culture

May Britt was portrayed by Megan Dodds in the 1998 TV film The Rat Pack, which depicted her marriage to Sammy Davis, Jr., played by Don Cheadle.

Selected filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair	Jolanda	Alternative title: Jolanda la figlia del corsaro nero
1953	Cavalleria rusticana	Santuzza	Alternative title: Fatal Desire (US)
1954	Vergine moderna	Claudia Bardi	Alternative title: Modern Virgin
1955	L'ultimo amante	Maria
1955	Revelation	Nadia Ulianova
1956	War and Peace	Sonia Rostova
1958	The Young Lions	Gretchen Hardenberg
1958	The Hunters	Kristina Abbott
1959	The Blue Angel	Lola-Lola
1960	Murder, Inc.	Eadie Collins
1977	Haunts	Ingrid	Alternative title: The Veil

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968	The Danny Thomas Hour	Anna	1 episode
1969	Mission: Impossible	Eva Gollan	1 episode
1971	The Most Deadly Game	Lili	1 episode
	The Partners		1 episode
1988	Probe	Helga	1 episode

[ Source: Wikipedia ]