Rhonda Fleming was born as Marilyn Louis on the 10th August 1923, in Hollywood, California USA, and is a television and film actress, best known for her roles in such movies as “Spellbound” (1945), “The Spiral Staircase” (1946), “Out of the Past” (1947), and “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” (1957). Rhonda has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Fleming’s career started in 1943.
Have you ever wondered how rich Rhonda Fleming is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Fleming’s net worth is as high as $10 million, an amount earned largely through her successful acting career.
Rhonda Fleming Net Worth $10 Million
Rhonda Fleming grew up in California, where she went to Beverly Hills High School, and her talents were discovered by the Hollywood agent Henry Willson, who after Fleming’s matriculation in 1941, secured her roles in numerous movies.
In 1943, Rhonda debuted in Albert S. Rogell’s Oscar-nominated western “In Old Oklahoma” starring John Wayne, Martha Scott, and Albert Dekker, while two years later, she played in Alfred Hitchcock’s Oscar-winning “Spellbound” alongside Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, and Michael Chekhov. Fleming continued with Robert Siodmak’s Oscar-nominated “The Spiral Staircase” (1946) starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, and Ethel Barrymore, and played in “Out of the Past” (1947) with Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas, all of which helped increase her net worth.
In 1951, Rhonda starred alongside Dick Powell in Robert Parrish’s “Cry Danger”, and worked with Ronald Reagan in several movies in the early ‘50s. In 1953, she had a leading role in “Inferno”, while in 1956 Fleming played in “The Killer Is Loose” with Joseph Cotton and Wendell Corey. Also in 1956, she appeared alongside Dana Andrews and George Sanders in “While the City Sleeps”, and then had a role in John Sturges’ Oscar-nominated western “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” (1957) starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. Rhonda ended the ‘50s with a part in Mervyn LeRoy’s Golden Globe-nominated drama “Home Before Dark” (1958) with Jean Simmons and Dan O’Herlihy. Her net worth was rising steadily.
Fleming’s career slowed down, as she appeared in various TV series and less popular movies, but she had a part in Jerry Lewis’ “The Patsy” in 1964, and Clive Donner’s “The Nude Bomb” in 1980. Her latest project was a short movie called “Waiting for the Wind” (1990), in which she played alongside the Oscar-nominated actor Robert Mitchum.
Regarding her personal life, Rhonda Fleming has been married six times, firstly to Thomas Lane from 1940 to 1948, and she has a son named Kent Lane (born in 1941) with him. Rhonda’s second husband was Dr. Lew Morrell from 1952 to 1958, then Lang Jeffries from 1960 to 1962, Hall Bartlett from 1966 to 1972, and Ted Mann from 1978 until his death in 2001. Fleming married Darol Wayne Carlson in 2003, and they are still together. Fleming is a member of the Westwood Presbyterian Church, and supported Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential election.
Rhonda is well-known for her charity work; in 1991, she and her then-husband, Ted Mann, founded the Rhonda Fleming Mann Clinic For Women’s Comprehensive Care at the UCLA Medical Center.
I'm glad I was a star back then and not now. I never had to take my clothes off to appear sexy. It was a certain look. My only regret is I didn't get to make a truly great movie like Casablanca (1942) to be identified with. Fans come up and they keep mentioning stuff like Yankee Pasha (1954) or Those Redheads from Seattle (1953). Now come on!
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[When asked if there were any recent movies she would like to have starred in 1994] I thought for a bit and almost said the dinosaur in Jurassic Park (1993) because that's about the strongest woman's role these days.
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[on Bing Crosby] He'd be telling a story right before the director would say "Action" and he'd go right on with the joke directly into the scene without missing a beat. And I wouldn't know where I was because I was so focused on the joke!
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[on filming The Redhead and the Cowboy (1951)] They wanted to get a close-up of me rearing a horse without using a stunt girl. So in the scene, I was riding uphill and I reared the horse up and it fell back on top of me. By the Grace of God I was not squashed like a bug. I was knocked unconscious. How I got up and walked away and finished that film was a miracle.
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[on Bing Crosby and Bob Hope] Bing was so easy-going and very relaxed and Bob would rehearse and rehearse. I wondered, "How did they make all those Road pictures together because their styles were so different?".
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[on her break into movies] I had hoped to do some singing, but at the time I got into show business, musicals were not being made quite as often. I wound up playing a patient at a mental institution.
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Mine was a very rare and wonderful Cinderella story, a complete Cinderella story that could have only happened during the studio system era.
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What I didn't care for was everything made in those days was black and white, very hard black and white too, there was nothing really pretty about it, even my auburn hair became jet black.
She turned down Yul Brynner's offer of the role of Anna for a year in the road company of "The King and I".
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Signed her first contract for 20th Century-Fox under the professional name of Marilyn Lane but it was later changed to Rhonda at the suggestion of David O. Selznick.
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She took lessons in light opera for ten years as a child.
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Established Rhonda Fleming Mann Clinic for Women Comprehensive Care at the UCLA Medical Center (1993).
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She was awarded a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars on December 9, 2007.
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She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6660 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.
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She supported Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential election.
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Is a strong supporter of the Republican party and was an honored speaker at the National Federal of Republican Women in 2007.
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According to an interview with Ms. Fleming which was featured in an issue of "Films of the Golden Age", writer Paul Phaneuf states that Rhonda's very first taste of Hollywood came when she was 15 years old. Her mother took some pictures of her in their backyard and sent them to big-time Hollywood producer Jesse Lasky for an upcoming show of his. She lost out in the final audition.
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Her mother was a famous Swedish blonde model in New York who made the cover of Harper's and other major magazines, and later appeared in the Al Jolson show "Dancing Around" at the Wintergarden Theater for two years and progressed from understudy to leading role. Her father was a non-professional (insurance man). Her parents divorced when Rhonda was ten.
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Her grandfather on her mother's side was a well known actor in Utah, John C. Graham. He also owned a theater and was editor of the local newspaper.
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A lyric soprano, her early singing idol was Deanna Durbin. She was trained in voice by an aunt and entered singing contests.
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Was "discovered" by talent agent Henry Willson while a student at Beverly Hills High School.
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A one-time Las Vegas showroom singing act at the Tropicana, she also performed at the Hollywood Bowl in a one-woman concert of Cole Porter and Irving Berlin songs. Also did a ten-week tour with Skitch Henderson that focused on the music of George Gershwin. She recorded an album in 1958 for Columbia Records.
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She, Jane Russell, Connie Haines and Beryl Davis were once part of a traveling gospel quartet at their church called "The Four Girls" and made an album called "Make a Joyful Noise" that sold over a million copies.
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Attended and graduated from Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California in 1941.