Dina Merrill is an American actress, socialite, businesswoman and philanthropist.
Background
Merrill was born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton in New York City on December 29, 1923, although for many years her year of birth was given as 1925. Merrill had two older half-sisters, Adelaide Breevort Close, later Adelaide Breevort Hutton (July 26, 1908 – December 31, 1998) and Eleanor Post Close, later Eleanor Post Hutton (December 3, 1909 – November 27, 2006), by her mother"s first marriage, to Edward Bennett Close (grandfather of actress Glenn Close).
Education
She was educated at Mission Porter"s School and she studied at the George Washington University but dropped out after a year and enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Career
She made her debut to society at age sixteen. The late 1950s and 1960s, Merrill was believed to have intentionally been marketed as a replacement to Grace Kelly, and in 1959 she was proclaimed "Hollywood"s new Grace Kelly". She also appeared in made-for-television movies, such as Seven in Darkness (1969), The Lonely Profession (1969), Family Flight (1972) and The Tenth Month (1979).
Merrill appeared regularly as a guest star on numerous television series in the 1960s, notably as a villain, "Calamity January," in two 1968 episodes of Batman alongside then-husband Cliff Robertson.
She also made guest appearances on Bonanza and The Love Boat. Her stage credits include the 1983 Broadway revival of the Rodgers & Hart musical On Your Toes, starring Russian prima ballerina Natalia Makarova.
In 1991, she appeared in the rotating cast of the off-Broadway staged reading of Wit & Wisdom.