Betsy Drake

Betsy Drake was born on 11 September 1923 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, to American parents, and grew up between France and the United States. She began as a model and stage actress, appearing on Broadway in the 1940s, and was performing in London's West End when she met Cary Grant aboard the liner Queen Mary in 1947. Her screen career was modest but steady: she starred opposite Grant in Every Girl Should Be Married (1948), which led to their marriage, and appeared in Dancing in the Dark (1949), Room for One More (1952) and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957). She largely stepped back from acting during her marriage to Grant, working instead on writing projects, including an early draft of the screenplay for Houseboat (1958), from which her credit was later removed under disputed circumstances. In July 1956, Drake survived the sinking of the Italian liner Andrea Doria off Nantucket, an event she rarely discussed publicly in detail. Following her divorce from Grant, she trained formally in psychology, eventually working as a psychotherapist in London, where she specialized in treating children and adolescents. She also taught creative writing and continued to write privately. Drake and Grant separated in 1958 and divorced on 14 August 1962, after their marriage of nearly thirteen years — the longest of Grant's five marriages. She died in London on 27 October 2015, at ninety-two.