Legendary actress Angie Dickinson has been active in the entertainment industry for nearly 60 years. She was the second of three children and was given the name Angeline Brown when she was born on September 30th, 1931 in Kulm, North Dakota.

When Dickinson was a child, her family relocated to California, where she completed her secondary education at Glendale High School. After that, she continued her education at Glendale Community College before transferring to Immaculate Heart College to get her Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree. After graduating college, she first pursued a profession as a secretary for a number of years before making the decision to go into the acting industry.

Dickinson made her acting debut in the film “Lucky Me” in 1954, in which she had a supporting part. After that, she went on to star in a number of other television programs, such as “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp” and “Death Valley Days.”

Yet it was her performance in the film “Rio Bravo” in 1959 that set the stage for the rest of her career. Feathers, played by Dickinson, is a vivacious lady who attracts the interest of Sheriff John T. Chance, portrayed by John Wayne. Dickinson plays the part of Feathers. Dickinson’s performance garnered her critical praise and positioned her as a rising star, both of which were helped along by the enormous commercial success of the picture.

After the critical and commercial success of “Rio Bravo,” Dickinson went on to feature in a series of critically and commercially acclaimed films, such as “Ocean’s Eleven” (1960) and “The Sins of Rachel Cade” (1961). She featured opposite Lee Marvin in the criminal thriller “Point Blank,” which was released in 1963 and went on to become a cult classic.

During the course of her career, Dickinson collaborated on several projects with a number of the most well-known directors and actresses in the business. She shared the screen with well-known actors such as Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck, and William Holden, among others. Dickinson’s personal life grew defined by challenges and tragedy as time went on, despite the fact that her profession flourished in her younger years. Continue reading to learn more about her personal struggles as well as what she has been up to in the previous years.

Dickinson was cast as the main character in the successful television series “Police Woman” in the year 1974. She took on the role of Sergeant Leanne “Pepper” Anderson, a feisty and no-nonsense Los Angeles police officer who worked to combat crime on the city’s streets. The program was such a great hit that it was renewed for a total of four seasons.

One of the show’s producers managed to persuade Dickinson to accept the role, despite the fact that she first expressed reluctance due to the demanding production schedule.

I responded by saying, “I simply can’t, I have a family,” and he asked me, “Don’t you want to be a household name?” She said the following to PBS in 2011: “And that did it – I did want to be.”

Despite the fact that she played one of the first major woman parts on television, Dickinson said that she “never felt the need for feminism.” She also stated that she “never felt rivalry with males,” which she thought was the impetus for the beginning of the movement.

In addition to her literary accomplishments, Dickinson was famous for her breathtaking beauty and sex appeal. She was a close friend of the famous Rat Pack back in the day, and she was often referred to as the “thinking man’s sex symbol.” She is said to have carried on an affair with Frank Sinatra that lasted for years and was even connected to John F. Kennedy, but she never let her public character be affected by any of these allegations.

“If it were true that people saw me as a sex symbol, I had no problem with that at all since it was exactly who I was. She told PBS that she “didn’t have any problems” since she didn’t have to “embellish it,” “work on it,” “alter my style,” or “do anything else” because “it was simply what I was.”

Nevertheless, Dickinson had more than just a gorgeous face. She was also a talented writer. She was a pioneer in the Hollywood industry, shattering stereotypes and blazing a path for others who would come after her. In 1974, she made history by being the first woman to ever hold the position of president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which is the organization that is in charge of putting on the Golden Globe Awards.

In addition, there was a significant amount of curiosity in Dickinson’s private life. She was married twice and had one child, a daughter named Nikki, with her second husband, the composer Burt Bacharach, whom she married in 1965. Nikki was born in 1966. Her first marriage ended in divorce. She remembered that she had fallen in love with him because “he was so different,” despite the fact that their marriage had not been a very joyful one.

“I can tell you right now that he never loved me in the traditional sense that people love one another. He loved in his own peculiar manner, which was not really healthy. According to her statement to CBS, “And so, he had no regard for me,” and she continued, “He should never have gotten married.” Notwithstanding of this, she said that she “liked him a lot.”

By 1980, the couple had separated, but Dickinson was about to experience another devastating loss. Nikki, the mother’s daughter, was born prematurely and was subsequently determined to have Asperger’s syndrome, a condition that falls somewhere on the autistic spectrum. Nikki died by her own hand in January 2007, when she was forty years old. Her parents published a statement after she passed away that stated, “She gently and painlessly committed herself to avoid the damages to her brain brought on by Asperger’s….” She was one of the most stunning animals that was ever brought into existence on our planet, and she is now resting in the pure light, at ease.” In the meanwhile, Burt died away on February 8, 2023, when he was 94 years old.

Dickinson continues to make guest appearances on television series such as “Desperate Housewives” far into her senior years. She had a memorable appearance in the new version of “Ocean’s Eleven” directed by George Clooney, which pleased the film’s most devoted followers.

At the age of 91, Dickinson has settled into a secluded existence in Los Angeles, where she makes very few public appearances. Having said that, she like things exactly the way they are now. She stated her position to PBS by saying, “I am not seeking for job, and I don’t really care. I’ve had my moment in the spotlight, and I couldn’t be happier about it.