Nancy Lou Sanders, a stunning blonde actress, was born on June 29, 1925, in Hollywood, California, to Leonard Sanders, a newspaperman, and Blanche Thompson, a showgirl who also appeared in silent films. The Santa Barbara earthquake occurred on the very same day of her birth, a curious coincidence. Initially, acting was not Nancy's primary career goal, but her life took a dramatic turn when she was discovered dancing at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub by journeyman actor and talent scout Don Dillaway. Dillaway was immediately smitten with Nancy and arranged a screen test at RKO Studios, which she passed with flying colors.
Nancy's contract with RKO was for six months, and her experience as an equestrian since the age of eight likely contributed to her success. Before long, she found herself on the cover of Life magazine, alongside Jane Greer and Martha Hyer, as one of nine promising young actresses. Nancy went on to appear in five films with RKO, after which her option was dropped, and she joined Columbia Pictures.
At Columbia, Nancy appeared in an impressive thirteen films in 1947 alone, many of which were horse operas, including half a dozen Durango Kid series films starring Charles Starrett, shot on location at the Columbia ranch in Burbank. Nancy also doubled for Rita Hayworth in The Lady from Shanghai (1947) and The Loves of Carmen (1948),wearing a blonde wig and a gypsy costume, respectively.
Nancy worked alongside Gerald Mohr in The Lone Wolf in London (1947) and made appearances in a few Three Stooges comedies, which she later said she truly enjoyed. As her Hollywood career began to slow down in the early 1950s, Nancy found work as a tour booking agent with Air Cal Airlines.
After a 40-year hiatus, Nancy returned to acting with occasional TV guest appearances in 1996. She was predeceased by her husband of 43 years, a sales representative for Seagram and Jim Beam.
