- Born
- Died
- Birth nameViolet Joan Pretty
- Height5′ 6″ (1.68 m)
- Befitting her original name (Violet Pretty), the knockout English brunette Anne Heywood won the coveted "Miss Great Britain" beauty title in 1950 at the young age of 17. Born on December 11, 1931, the daughter of a violinist, she originally trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She gained early experience on the stage with the Highbury Players in Birmingham and moved on to some TV work. The Rank Organization caught sight of her and offered the former beauty queen a seven-year contract. During that time, however, she was pretty much relegated to playing 'nice girl' types in the 50s and 60s.
In later career, her film appearances courted controversy and she seemed drawn toward highly troubled, flawed characters. Very popular with Italian audiences, Anne never endeared herself to American film goers although she did stir up some curiosity with one of her more noteworthy films, the pioneer lesbian drama The Fox (1967). Starring Anne with Sandy Dennis, the two were quite believable as an unhappy, isolated couple whose relationship is irreparably shattered by the appearance of a handsome stranger (Keir Dullea). At the height of the movie's publicity, Playboy magazine revealed a "pictorial essay" just prior to its 1967 release with Anne in a nude and auto-erotic spread. The film won a "Best Foreign Film" Golden Globe Award (it was made in Canada) and Anne herself earned a "Best Actress" nod.
Despite being aggressively promoted in its aftermath by husband/producer Raymond Stross, who was instrumental in reshaping her image with such sexy, offbeat dramas as The Night Fighters (1960), The Very Edge (1963), 90 Degrees in the Shade (1965), Midas Run (1969), I Want What I Want (1972) and Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff (1979), Anne has remained a distinct European film product. She last appeared on TV in The Equalizer (1985) series. Following her husband's death in 1988, Anne remarried (to a former New York Assistant Attorney General) and begged away from the camera. The couple settled in Beverly Hills.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net - Anne Heywood was born Violet Pretty in the Sutton Coldfield area of Birmingham and later lived in the Erdington and Handsworth districts, She came from a poor family of 7 whose circumstances were . made worse when her mother died when she was 10. She was educated at Fentham Secondary Modern School in Erdington leaving at 15 and in 1950 became Miss Great Britain which was followed by a further 40 beauty titles , including ..Miss West End Beauty Contest in Birmingham and went on tour with the Carol Levis Discovery Show. During the war she worked in an armaments factory in Coventry, She won an Italian Oscar i 1970, She nursed her husband Raymond Stross for 14 years- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tonyman 5
- Anne never liked her real name of Violet Pretty as she thought it was too presumptuous being called Pretty despite winning 14 beauty contests so she adopted her mothers maiden name. At school she used her talent in art to paint a mural on a wall which resulted in her name being put forward for a college scholarship but her father wouldn't let her go. Years later when she was under contract to Rank she was loaned to United Artists and when working at Universal she met Raymond Stross on the set of A Terrible Beauty. She and Raymond formed their own production company and were married for 18 years until his death from a heart attack in 1988. She later married George Drake, who'd been an assistant attorney general of New York State,- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tonyman 5
- SpousesGeorge Danzig Druke(1991 - October 7, 2021) (his death)Raymond Stross(1979 - July 31, 1988) (his death, 1 child)
- Miss Great Britain 1949
- Now permanently resides in Beverly Hills, US.
- Mother died when she was 10.
- Attended The London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art.
- Has one son, Mark, with Raymond Stross.
- I always hated my name. It sounded unreal.
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