Person biography:
Diana Claire Millay was a talented actress, model, and author who began her career in show business at a young age. Born in the 1930s, she started tap dancing at seven and won a beauty contest three years later, leading to modeling opportunities and eventually becoming a Conover model for the John Robert Powers Agency in New York.
She gained valuable acting experience during seven seasons of summer stock, playing various leads in classic plays such as "The Little Foxes," "The Seven Year Itch," "Tobacco Road," and "Life With Father." Millay also appeared on numerous live TV shows in New York and had a second-billed leading role in a 1955 episode of "Star Tonight."
After moving to Hollywood, she became a sought-after guest actress for prime-time TV shows, earning the nickname "Miss Emmy" by 1962. She also appeared thrice on Broadway, including a leading role in the comedy play "Boeing-Boeing" in 1962, and toured the U.S. and Canada in a National Theatre Company Production of "The Seven Year Itch" opposite Eddie Bracken.
Millay accumulated screen credits on popular TV shows of the 1960s, including "Maverick," "Gunsmoke," "Route 66," "Rawhide," "Perry Mason," "77 Sunset Strip," "The Virginian," and "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."
Her standout role came in the cult supernatural daytime series "Dark Shadows" (1966-1969),where she played Laura Collins, an immortal Phoenix-like entity. After the show ended, she wrote several books, including "The Power of Halloween," "How to Create Good Luck," and "I'd Rather Eat Than Act."
In her personal life, Millay was married to Geoffrey Montgomery Talbot Jones, a Broadway producer, from 1966 to 1968. In the 1990s, she worked as a promoter for Microhydrin, an antioxidant and nutritional supplement. Millay passed away on January 8, 2021, at the age of 86.
