Gayle Hunnicutt

Gayle Hunnicutt was an American actress, writer, and former fashion model whose career spanned more than three decades, beginning in the mid‑1960s and concluding at the end of the 1990s. Born on February 6, 1943, in Fort Worth, Texas, she was the daughter of Colonel Sam Lloyd Hunnicutt and Mary Virginia Dickerson. After earning a scholarship to study English literature and theatre at the University of California, Los Angeles, she entered the world of modeling before transitioning to acting, where she quickly became known for playing sophisticated, often seductive characters. Her early television work included a memorable turn as Emaline Fetty in two episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies in 1966, and she later co‑starred with James Garner in the detective film Marlowe (1969) as a glamorous Hollywood actress. The 1970s saw her move to England with her first husband, British actor David Hem ​​ming​s, and she appeared in horror classics such as Fragment of Fear (1970) and Voices (1973). She also portrayed literary figures like Charlotte Slant in the BBC adaptation of Henry James's The Golden Bowl (1972) and the iconic Tsarina Alexandra in the miniseries Fall of Eagles (1974). Her versatile talent carried her to a variety of genres, from the supernatural thriller The Legend of Hell House (1973) to the Sherlock Holmes episode “A Scandal in Bohemia” (1984) where she played Irene Adler opposite Jeremy Brett. In the late 1980s she returned to the United States, taking on a semi‑regular role as Vanessa Beaumont on the popular soap Dallas from 1989 to 1991, before ultimately retiring from acting in 1999. Beyond the screen, Hunnicutt authored two books: Health and Beauty in Motherhood (1984) and Dearest Virginia: Love Letters from a Cavalry Officer in the South Pacific (2004), showcasing her literary interests. She married David Hem ​​ming​s in 1968, with whom she had a son, Nolan Hemmings, and later married journalist Sir Simon Jenkins in 1978, sharing a long partnership and raising another son, Edward. In later years she lived in Primrose Hill, London, appearing on the HGTV series Selling London in 2012, before passing away on August 31 2023 at the age of 80 in London.