Tammy Lea Marihugh was born in Los Angeles to Malcolm Marihugh, a part-time Hollywood stand-in, and his wife Ellie, a former bank clerk, who both encouraged and supported their daughter's burgeoning career. By the time Tammy was six years old, she had already earned a significant amount of money, approximately $35,000, through her participation in child beauty contests, modeling, and television appearances.
When Tammy was just four years old, her mother took her to a local photographer to capture some photos to send to her family back in Minot, North Dakota. The photographer was so impressed with Tammy's photogenic qualities that he offered her free photographs whenever she wanted them in exchange for using her images in his own advertisements. Ellie agreed, and Tammy's photos began appearing in several local Los Angeles newspapers.
In December 1957, Tammy won a TV Shirley Temple Smile contest, which led to her being offered a small part in the CBS show Playhouse 90. She recalled earning $200 for simply smiling into the camera. The following year, nearly 209,000 children entered photos for the "Howdy Doody" TV Show Smile Contest, and Tammy emerged as the winner, taking home a prize of $10,000.
Tammy's newfound fame led to her touring the country, appearing on NBC multiple times, and posing for magazine covers. During October and November 1958, she appeared on the popular Candid Camera-style show People Are Funny, hosted by Art Linkletter. On the show, she was given thousands of dollars in play money, which she used to try to buy her father a 50-cent gift and give away a kitten in public.
Tammy's appearances on People Are Funny made her a household name, and in April 1959, she joined the cast of The Bob Cummings Show in its final season, signing a contract that paid her $500 per episode. She also appeared at the 1960 PATSY Awards, representing Asta, the dog from the 1957-1959 TV series The Thin Man.
As Tammy's career continued to flourish, she began to receive movie offers and made her film debut in 1960's The Last Voyage, playing the daughter of parents Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone. In June of that year, she was anointed "Little Miss Hot Dog", symbolizing the July celebration sponsored by the National Hot Dog Month Council, becoming the youngest "Miss Hot Dog" in history.
In December 1960, Tammy became her parents' landlord when a judge approved her buying a six-room house for $16,000 near the MGM Studio, where she was signed to a seven-year contract making $500-700 weekly. Producer George Pal personally recommended her for the part of Gretel in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, but she was instead cast as Pauline Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm's daughter.
This was to be Tammy's final movie appearance, and by the mid-1960s, she stopped appearing on television as well. After a 1964 guest appearance on the CBS sitcom My Three Sons, it was five years until her next and final acting role, also on My Three Sons, in a 1969 episode.
