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Connie Stevens was a huge star in the late 1950s and 1960s and a prominent pop-culture icon who, with her wholesome, baby doll looks, rivaled even Sandra Dee.
She had a bubbly, infectious personality that made her the quintessential girl-next-door.
Stevens' background as a pop recording artist only served to increase her devoted fanbase.
She is just as famous, perhaps, for marrying crooner Eddie Fisher, who left America's other sweetheart Debbie Reynolds and their two children to marry Elizabeth Taylor in 1959.
Stevens' own marriage to the Wish You Were Here hitmaker was short-lived, lasting from 1967 to 1969. They were married long enough to have two daughters, Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher, who were born 14 months apart.
As she celebrated her 88th birthday earlier this month, she still bore traces of that spirited screen star and singer.
Connie Stevens was a huge star in the late 1950s and 1960s and prominent pop-culture icon who, with her wholesome, baby doll looks, rivaled even Sandra Dee
The pop culture icon starred in three movies with teen idol Troy Donahue including Susan Slade and Parrish, both in 1961, and 1963's light-hearted, bedroom comedy Palm Springs Weekend; seen in a scene from Palm Springs Weekend
Her younger daughter Tricia shared a picture to Instagram that showed a smiling Stevens with long silvery hair and wearing a yellow embroidered, off-the-shoulder blouse.
'88 on 8/8! My beautiful Mama Lion… 'I love you in a place where there's no space and time,'' Tricia wrote in the caption, quoting the 1970 classic tune A Song for You by Leon Russell. 'You are a treasure to all who know you. Happy Birthday.'
Her breakthrough role was in the 1957 low-budget teen movie Young and Dangerous with Mark Damon.
But she achieved worldwide fame after Jerry Lewis cast her as his love interest in the musical comedy Rock-a-Bye Baby, after she caught his eye in the 1958 film Dragstrip Riot about rivalry between clean-cut, sports car-driving teenagers and a surly motorcycle gang.
Stevens starred in three movies with massive teen idol Troy Donahue including Susan Slade and Parrish, both in 1961, and 1963's light-hearted, bedroom comedy Palm Springs Weekend.
The two stars remained friends and she visited Donahue shortly before his death in 2001.
Despite the personal demons he faced after his Hollywood star faded, Stevens remarked, 'I had never seen him happier, never more at peace with himself,' per CNN.
She dated Elvis Presley intermittently for two years.
As she celebrated her 88th birthday earlier this month, she still bore traces of that spirited screen star and singer
She dated Elvis Presley intermittently for two years after he called her up for a date in the early 1960s; Presley seen in a still from the 1958 film King Creole
Stevens achieved worldwide fame after Jerry Lewis cast her as his love interest in the 1958 musical comedy Rock-a-Bye Baby, after she caught his eye earlier that year in the film Dragstrip Riot; Stevens seen circa 1960
America's bubbly girl-next-door was married for two years to crooner Eddie Fisher, who left that other America's sweetheart Debbie Reynolds (right) for Elizabeth Taylor (left) in 1959
Stevens went on to star in several TV programs including the 1964-1965 sitcom Wendy and Me opposite George Burns (right) and Ron Harper (left)
In a 2003 interview on CNN's Larry King Live, Stevens recalled receiving a telephone call from the King of Rock 'n Roll on the set of Hawaiian Eye in the early 1960s.
She didn't believe it at first, but soon discovered it really was Elvis, who invited her to a party and said he would come over and pick her up personally.
It wasn't a serious relationship, but they stayed lifelong friends until Presley's death in 1977.
Stevens later starred in the 1964-1965 sitcom Wendy and Me opposite George Burns, and had roles in the TV movie The Littlest Angel (1969), Mister Jerico (1970) in the UK and a role in The Grissom Gang (1971).
She was offered the role of Honey Bruce in the 1974 film Lenny by director Bob Fosse, but turned it down because it involved nudity. The role went to Valerie Perrine instead.
In the 1980s, Stevens guest starred on a number of popular shows including Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Hotel, Murder, She Wrote, Tales from the Darkside and Detective in the House.
In the last two decades, she appeared in 2009's Double Duty, Just Before I Go in 2014 and 2016's Search Engines alongside her daughter Joely.
Though she has mostly stepped away from the public eye in recent years and currently lives in an assisted living facility following a severe stroke in 2016, her positive attitude can still clearly be felt.
English (US) ·