May Britt, ‘War and Peace’ Actress and Ex-Wife of Sammy Davis Jr., Dead at 91

Swedish actress May Britt has died. She was 91.

Britt, who had a successful film career before becoming the second wife of Sammy Davis Jr., died of natural causes in a Los Angeles hospital.

She was a photographer’s assistant before being discovered as a teen by legendary Italian filmmakers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati, who happened to be in Stockholm looking for a young blonde to play the title role in their upcoming film Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair. The two offered her the part immediately after meeting her, and she moved to Rome.

While in Rome, she starred in the three-time Oscar-nominated adaptation of War and Peace, where she acted alongside Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda.

Later on, she relocated to Los Angeles thanks to a contract with 20th Century Fox. She starred alongside some of the biggest names in Hollywood history—like Marlon Brando, Robert Mitchum, Montgomery Clift and Peter Falk—during the 1950s.

Eventually, she met Sammy Davis Jr. in 1959, and the two married a year later in 1960. After marrying Davis Jr., she retired from acting. The two had a daughter and adopted two sons before divorcing in 1968.

She unretired from acting and starred in various TV roles after her divorce, although she never regained her earlier fame. Eventually, she found love again and married Lennart Rindquist, who she was with until his death in 2017. She never remarried.

Britt is survived by her two sons and her six grandchildren.