Maria Montez

Her most frequent costar was Jon Hall, who some critics claimed was prettier and better built than she was. A 24-hour-a-day star, Ms. Montez was famous for her spectacular entrances at nightclubs and social functions; once, when her arrival at the Universal commissary failed to attract notice, she turned her heel and left the room, returning moments later with a huge entourage and accompanying loud noises. Her career faded out when the sort of lavishly silly movies in which she specialized were reduced to B-pictures in the late '40s, though she continued to work in European films. The victim of an erratic heart, Maria Montez suffered a coronary and drowned in the bathtub of her Paris mansion in 1951. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide