Carol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.
Background
Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in Manhattan, the daughter of Frances (née Felch), a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German and Native American ancestry.
Career
She began her career as a child model under the name Carolyn Lee. When she started acting, after appearing on the April 22, 1957, cover of Life magazine at 15, she discovered that another actress had already registered the name so she modified it by using the final syllable of Carolyn and fusing it with Lee to make Lynley. Early on, Lynley distinguished herself in both the Broadway stage and Hollywood screen versions of the controversial drama Blue Denim (1959) in which the teenage characters played by Lynley and co-star Brandon deWilde had to deal with an unwanted pregnancy and (then-illegal) abortion.
Lynley is perhaps best known for her film roles in Return to Peyton Place, Under the Yum Yum Tree, Bunny Lake is Missing, The Pleasure Seekers, The Cardinal, Harlow (as actress Jean Harlow) and The Poseidon Adventure, in which she performed the Oscar-winning song "The Morning After" (although her singing voice was dubbed by studio singer, Renee Armand).
Lynley appeared in the pilot television movies for Kolchak: The Night Stalker and Fantasy Island. Her many other series appearances include The Big Valley, Mannix, lieutenant Takes a Thief, Night Gallery, The Invaders, Kojak, Hawaii Five-O, Hart to Hart and Charlie"s Angels.
Lynley appeared in the fourth season of The Manitoba from United Network Command for Law and Enforcement in the two-part episode The Prince of Darkness Affair. She posed nude at age 22 for the March 1965 edition of Playboy magazine.
In 2006, she appeared in a 30-minute film, Vic, co-written and directed by Sage Stallone, the late son of Sylvester Stallone.