Dana Wynter

Though Dana Wynter held a number of leading parts in television, her breakthrough film role was as Becky Driscoll, patient and former love interest of main character Dr. Miles Bennell in 1956's original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." The sci-fi classic served as a metaphor for anti-communist paranoia of the McCarthy era; Wynter's character, Becky, and Dr. Bennell fight to warn humankind about the Pod People, emotionless physical duplicates who take possession of the bodies of humans. Thanks to the exposure Wynter gained from the critically acclaimed film, she shared a Golden Globe win the following year for Most Promising Female Newcomer with fellow actresses Anita Ekberg (of "La Dolce Vita") and Victoria Shaw. After this win, Wynter appeared in fairly prominent movie roles, including Holly, fiancée of Rock Hudson's character in the Kenyan war drama "Something of Value"; and Jennifer Curtis, the love interest in the IRA drama "Shake Hands with the Devil," co-starring James Cagney. In the '60s and '70s, Wynter took roles primarily in television, including a cameo on the iconic Western "Gunsmoke" and a twice-occurring role on the mystery series "The Rockford Files," starring James Garner. Though she largely retired from acting after the early '80s, she appeared in one '90s TV movie before retreating from the spotlight. Wynter died in 2011.