Short Biography

Born in Jacksonville to a logging camp boss, green-eyed, dark-haired Wanda Hendrix was involved in her hometown`s little theater group when she was "discovered" by a passing talent agent and signed up for starlet roles in films. Foregoing bit parts, the petite and lovely up-and-comer was immediately featured in prominent roles in Confidential Agent (1945) and Nora Prentiss (1947) for Warner Bros. and Welcome Stranger (1947) for Paramount. Even better quality roles came her way in films such as Ride the Pink Horse (1947) and Miss Tatlock`s Millions (1948). After appearing on the cover of Coronet magazine, WWII hero-turned-Universal star Audie Murphy took notice and arranged a meeting with her. They married in 1949 and she co-starred a year later in one of his western vehicles, Sierra (1950). The marriage had problems from the beginning. Audie, who wanted her to give up her career, suffered from flashbacks and paranoia from his traumatic war-time experiences and often held her at gunpoint during violent episodes. The frightened woman left him after only seven months and divorced him soon after. The publicity of their stormy marriage did little to enhance Wanda`s career and after a few standard oaters and war yarns, the more notable ones being Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1950) with Alan Ladd, The Highwayman (1951) with Charles Coburn, and Roger Corman`s Highway Dragnet (1954) with Richard Conte, Wanda retired from pictures to marry a millionaire. She made a brief comeback after her divorce but nothing much came from it. Married and divorced once more to an oil exec, she died in 1981 of double pneumonia.

Who's Dated Who content is contributed and edited by our readers. Please report errors or omissions on this page.