Jill St. John
Encyclopedia
Jill St. John is an American
actress. She is best known for her role as Tiffany Case
, the lead Bond girl
in Diamonds Are Forever
.
, daughter of Edward and Betty Lou Oppenheim. She attended Beverly Hills High School.
. At age 11 she appeared in two episodes of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show and several other TV shows, which led Universal Pictures
to sign her to a contract when she was 16. Her major studio film debut was in Summer Love (1958) starring John Saxon
. She went on to appear in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959), Holiday for Lovers
(1959), Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?
(1963), Who's Minding the Store?
(1963) and Honeymoon Hotel
(1964).
St. John received a Golden Globe nomination for Come Blow Your Horn
(1963). She had major film roles during the 1960s and early 1970s, including, "Jennifer Jones" in The Lost World
(1960); as "Barbara Tuttle," in Jerry Lewis
's Who's Minding the Store?
; and a turn as Bond girl
Tiffany Case
opposite Sean Connery
, in the 1971 James Bond
film, Diamonds Are Forever
. In 1964, she guest starred with Lauren Bacall
and Bacall's then husband, Jason Robards, Jr., in the episode "Take a Walk Through the Cemetery" of Craig Stevens
's CBS
drama series, Mr. Broadway
. St. John appeared in the first episode of the campy '60s television series Batman
as the Riddler's moll, Molly (she was the only female to be killed off during the entire series).
In 1983-1984, she starred with Dennis Weaver
on the short-lived CBS soap opera, Emerald Point N.A.S.
, in which she played "Deanna Kinkaid," "Thomas Mallory's" conniving former sister-in-law.
St. John continues to act. Her roles in the 1990s and 2000s have primarily been for television sitcoms and made-for-television movies. In 1997, St. John had a guest appearance on the Seinfeld
episode, "The Yada Yada
", alongside her husband. She portrayed "Mary Oakley" in The Trip
, in 2002, which to date is her most recent appearance in film or television.
St. John has worked on five movies with her husband Robert Wagner
: Banning
; How I Spent My Summer Vacation
; Something to Believe In
; The Player
and Around the World in 80 Days
with Pierce Brosnan
. She also appeared in the pilot episode for his television series Hart to Hart
as "Sylvia Maxwell."
She is the author of The Jill St. John Cookbook (1987).
She has three stepdaughters:
Her stepdaughter, Katie, was the maid of honor at her wedding in 1990. Her matron of honor was Robert Wagner's sister, Mary.
After the death of her second husband Lance Reventlow
, she dedicated her cookbook to his memory. Despite their divorce and his subsequent re-marriage, St. John refers to Reventlow as "my late husband" in interviews.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress. She is best known for her role as Tiffany Case
Tiffany Case
Tiffany Case is a fictional character in the James Bond novel and film Diamonds Are Forever. For the 1971 film she was portrayed by Jill St. John...
, the lead Bond girl
Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character or actress portraying a love interest, of James Bond in a film, novel, or video game. They occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as "Pussy Galore", "Plenty O'Toole", "Xenia Onatopp", or "Holly Goodhead"...
in Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds Are Forever (film)
Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...
.
Early life
St. John was born Jill Arlyn Oppenheim in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, daughter of Edward and Betty Lou Oppenheim. She attended Beverly Hills High School.
Career
St. John's television acting debut was in a production of A Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
. At age 11 she appeared in two episodes of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show and several other TV shows, which led Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
to sign her to a contract when she was 16. Her major studio film debut was in Summer Love (1958) starring John Saxon
John Saxon (actor)
John Saxon is an American actor who has worked on over 200 projects during the span of sixty years. Saxon is most known for his work in horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Black Christmas, both of which feature Saxon as a policeman in search of the killer...
. She went on to appear in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959), Holiday for Lovers
Holiday for Lovers
Holiday for Lovers is a 1959 comedy film directed by Henry Levin. Based on a 1957 play by Ronald Alexander, the film stars Clifton Webb, Jane Wyman, Jill St. John and Carol Lynley.-Plot:...
(1959), Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? is a 1963 movie comedy starring Dean Martin, Elizabeth Montgomery, and Carol Burnett, and directed by Daniel Mann.-Plot:...
(1963), Who's Minding the Store?
Who's Minding the Store?
Who's Minding the Store? is a comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on November 28, 1963 by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:The rich Mrs. Tuttle is upset that her daughter Barbara Who's Minding the Store? is a comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring...
(1963) and Honeymoon Hotel
Honeymoon Hotel
Honeymoon Hotel is an animated cartoon short subject in the Leon Schlesinger/Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies series, released February 17, 1934....
(1964).
St. John received a Golden Globe nomination for Come Blow Your Horn
Come Blow Your Horn (film)
Come Blow Your Horn is a 1963 comedy film directed by Bud Yorkin and based on the play of the same name.-Cast:* Frank Sinatra - Alan Baker* Lee J. Cobb - Harry R. Baker* Molly Picon - Mrs. Sophie Baker* Barbara Rush - Connie...
(1963). She had major film roles during the 1960s and early 1970s, including, "Jennifer Jones" in The Lost World
The Lost World (1960 film)
The Lost World is a 1960 science fiction adventure film based on the novel of the same name by Arthur Conan Doyle and directed by Irwin Allen...
(1960); as "Barbara Tuttle," in Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
's Who's Minding the Store?
Who's Minding the Store?
Who's Minding the Store? is a comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on November 28, 1963 by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:The rich Mrs. Tuttle is upset that her daughter Barbara Who's Minding the Store? is a comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring...
; and a turn as Bond girl
Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character or actress portraying a love interest, of James Bond in a film, novel, or video game. They occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as "Pussy Galore", "Plenty O'Toole", "Xenia Onatopp", or "Holly Goodhead"...
Tiffany Case
Tiffany Case
Tiffany Case is a fictional character in the James Bond novel and film Diamonds Are Forever. For the 1971 film she was portrayed by Jill St. John...
opposite Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
, in the 1971 James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film, Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds Are Forever (film)
Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...
. In 1964, she guest starred with Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
and Bacall's then husband, Jason Robards, Jr., in the episode "Take a Walk Through the Cemetery" of Craig Stevens
Craig Stevens (actor)
Craig Stevens was an American motion picture and television actor.-Early and personal life:Born Gail Shikles, Jr., in Liberty, Missouri, his father was a high school teacher....
's CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
drama series, Mr. Broadway
Mr. Broadway
Mr. Broadway is a 13-episode CBS adventure and drama television series starring Craig Stevens , formerly of Peter Gunn, as New York City public relations specialist Mike Bell. The program aired at 9 p.m. Eastern time Saturdays from September 26 to December 26, 1964...
. St. John appeared in the first episode of the campy '60s television series Batman
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
as the Riddler's moll, Molly (she was the only female to be killed off during the entire series).
In 1983-1984, she starred with Dennis Weaver
Dennis Weaver
William Dennis Weaver was an American actor, best known for his work in television, including roles on Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, and the 1971 TV movie Duel....
on the short-lived CBS soap opera, Emerald Point N.A.S.
Emerald Point N.A.S.
Emerald Point N.A.S is an American television drama starring Dennis Weaver that premiered on CBS on Monday, September 26, 1983. It was cancelled in 1984 after twenty-two weeks, its final episode airing March 12, 1984....
, in which she played "Deanna Kinkaid," "Thomas Mallory's" conniving former sister-in-law.
St. John continues to act. Her roles in the 1990s and 2000s have primarily been for television sitcoms and made-for-television movies. In 1997, St. John had a guest appearance on the Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
episode, "The Yada Yada
The Yada Yada
"The Yada Yada" is the 153rd episode of the American NBC sitcom Seinfeld. The 19th episode of the 8th season, it aired on April 24, 1997 and was nominated for an Emmy.-Plot:...
", alongside her husband. She portrayed "Mary Oakley" in The Trip
The Trip (2002 film)
The Trip is a 2002 epic gay romance that traces the relationship between two men from their initial meeting in 1973 until 1984.-Plot synopsis:...
, in 2002, which to date is her most recent appearance in film or television.
St. John has worked on five movies with her husband Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
: Banning
Banning (film)
Banning is 1967 film directed by Ron Winston and starring Robert Wagner, Jill St. John, Gene Hackman, Guy Stockwell and James Farentino. Quincy Jones and Bob Russell were nominated for an Academy Award for the song, "The Eyes of Love."-Plot:...
; How I Spent My Summer Vacation
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
How I Spent My Summer Vacation is the fifth studio album by New Jersey punk band The Bouncing Souls. It was released on May 22, 2001. This was the first album to feature new drummer Michael McDermott, formerly of Murphy's Law and Skinnerbox...
; Something to Believe In
Something to Believe In (film)
Something to Believe In is a 1998 film directed by John Hough....
; The Player
The Player
The Player is a 1992 American satirical film directed by Robert Altman from a screenplay by Michael Tolkin based on his own 1988 novel of the same name....
and Around the World in 80 Days
Around the World in 80 Days (TV miniseries)
Around the World in 80 Days is a 1989 three-part television Eastmancolor miniseries originally broadcast on NBC. The production garnered three nominations for Emmy awards that year...
with Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
. She also appeared in the pilot episode for his television series Hart to Hart
Hart to Hart
Hart to Hart is an American television series, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a wealthy couple who also moonlighted as amateur detectives. The series was created by writer Sidney Sheldon and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg...
as "Sylvia Maxwell."
She is the author of The Jill St. John Cookbook (1987).
Personal life
St. John has been married four times. Each of the marriages was childless.- Neil Durbin — (May 23, 1957 – June 3, 1958) when she was 16 years old (divorced). Neil was heir to a Linen fortune. They eloped and Jill's father Eddie later had it anulled.
- Lance ReventlowLance ReventlowLance Reventlow, born Lawrence Graf von Haugwitz-Hardenberg-Reventlow was a wealthy playboy, entrepreneur, and racing driver....
- (March 24, 1960 – October 30, 1963) (divorced) Lance was the son of Barbara Hutton, one of the world's richest women (...as heir to the F W Woolworth fortune). Lance died in a plane accident after they divorced. Jill loathed his desire to race cars. Debbie Barker was the actress who played the role of Jill St. John (the daughter-in-law of Barbara Hutton) in a 1987 television movie and mini-series called 'Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story'. - Jack JonesJack Jones (singer)John Allan "Jack" Jones is an American jazz and pop singer. He was one of the most popular vocalists of the 1960s.-Overview:...
— (October 14, 1967–1969) (divorced) - Robert WagnerRobert WagnerRobert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
— (May 26, 1990 – present) They first met when she was 18 years old and have been a couple since early 1982
She has three stepdaughters:
- Katie WagnerKatie WagnerKatharine "Katie" Wagner is a television personality and Hollywood reporter. She was named after actress and family friend Katharine Hepburn. Her parents are actress Marion Marshall and veteran actor Robert Wagner...
(born 1964, Wagner's oldest child, from his marriage to Marion MarshallMarion Marshall (actress)Marion Marshall is an American actress.Marshall's first film appearances were in the 20th Century Fox films Gentleman's Agreement and Daisy Kenyon in 1947...
); - Natasha Gregson (born in 1970, daughter of Richard Gregson and Natalie WoodNatalie WoodNatalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
, raised by Wagner and St. John after Wood's death); - Courtney Wagner (born in 1974, Wagner's only child with Wood).
Her stepdaughter, Katie, was the maid of honor at her wedding in 1990. Her matron of honor was Robert Wagner's sister, Mary.
After the death of her second husband Lance Reventlow
Lance Reventlow
Lance Reventlow, born Lawrence Graf von Haugwitz-Hardenberg-Reventlow was a wealthy playboy, entrepreneur, and racing driver....
, she dedicated her cookbook to his memory. Despite their divorce and his subsequent re-marriage, St. John refers to Reventlow as "my late husband" in interviews.
Selected filmography
- Tony RomeTony RomeTony Rome is a 1967 detective film starring Frank Sinatra and directed by Gordon Douglas, adapted from Marvin Albert's novel Miami Mayhem. Filming took place on location in Miami, Florida, with some scenes being shot during the day at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, where Sinatra was performing in...
(1967) - The King's PirateThe King's PirateThe King's Pirate is a 1967 American pirate film directed by Don Weis and starring Doug McClure, Jill St. John and Guy Stockwell. It is a remake of the 1952 film Against All Flags. A British naval officer volunteers for a dangerous mission to infiltrate the base of pirates who threaten shipping off...
(1967) - Foreign ExchangeForeign Exchange (1970 film)Foreign Exchange is a 1970 British television thriller film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Robert Horton, Sebastian Cabot and Jill St. John. It was based on a novel by Jimmy Sangster. A former British spy arranges an exchange of captured spies with Russia.-Cast:* Robert Horton ... John...
(1970, TV film) - Diamonds Are ForeverDiamonds Are Forever (film)Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...
(1971) - Sitting TargetSitting TargetSitting Target is a 1972 British film directed by Douglas Hickox and shot in London.-Plot:It is a violent crime thriller starring Oliver Reed as Harry Lomart, a convicted murderer, and Ian McShane as Birdy Williams, as two convicts planning a breakout. Before the two men can abscond to another...
(1972) - The Concrete JungleThe Concrete Jungle (film)The Concrete Jungle is a 1982 American women in prison film directed by Tom DeSimone and featuring Jill St. John and Tracey E. Bregman.-Plot:...
(1982) - RoosterRooster (TV film)Rooster is a 1982 made-for-TV film, starring Paul Williams and Pat McCormick. Rooster is an unsold television pilot written and produced by Glen Larson for 20th Century Fox Television and broadcast as a two hour movie on the ABC Television Network in 1982....
(1982, TV film) - The Calling (2002)