Olive Felicia Dines, a sultry and talented actress of Russian/Romanian and Jewish descent, was born in Westchester County, New York, to Max Dines, a journalist or attorney, and his wife Sylvia Schwartz. Her early life was marked by a passion for dance, which she pursued through teenage years as a lingerie model to fund her lessons.
Felicia's academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Pennsylvania State University, which she earned in 1954. She also honed her acting skills through college plays, drama school, and live television commercials. Although she initially disliked modeling, she later remarked that it was hard work and made her feel like she was in a rut.
Felicia's breakthrough in the entertainment industry came when a talent agent spotted her playing the lead role in William Inge's play Picnic at The Players Ring Theater in 1955. This led to a seven-year contract with Columbia executives, who were impressed by her performance. She was initially billed as Randy Farr and went on to become a western leading lady, starring in a trio of classics directed by Delmer Daves.
Throughout her career, Felicia essayed a wide range of characters, from religious types to barmaids, and from party girls to femme fatales. She appeared in various films, including Jubal, 3:10 to Yuma, The Last Wagon, Kiss Me, Stupid, Kotch, Charley Varrick, and Loser's Crown. She also made frequent television guest appearances and was a talented, yet underused, actress.
Felicia was married twice, first to actor Lee Farr, whom she divorced in 1955, and then to Jack Lemmon, whom she met on the set of Cowboy in 1958. They married in 1962 in Paris and had a daughter, Courtney, in 1966. After her retirement from show business in 1992, Felicia made a brief comeback in 2014 to co-star in Loser's Crown.
In her later years, Felicia became known as Felicia F. Lemmon and resided in Los Angeles, where she dedicated her time and resources to various philanthropic endeavors and her beloved feline pets.
