Linda Christian (born Blanca Rosa Welter; November 13, 1923 â€" July
22, 2011) was a Mexican film actress, who appeared in Mexican and
Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s.
She played Mara in the last Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan film Tarzan and
the Mermaids (1948). She is also noted for being the first Bond girl,
appearing in a 1954 television adaptation of the James Bond novel
Casino Royale. In 1963 she starred as Eva Ashley in an episode of The
Alfred Hitchcock Hour titled "An Out for Oscar".Christian was born in
Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, a daughter of Dutch engineer and Royal
Dutch Shell executive Gerardus Jacob Welter (1904â€"1981), and his
Mexican-born wife, the former Blanca Rosa Vorhauer (1901-1992), who
was of Spanish, German and French descent. The Welter family moved a
great deal during Christian's youth, living everywhere from South
America and Europe to the Middle East and Africa. As a result of this
nomadic lifestyle, Christian became an accomplished polyglot with the
ability to speak fluent French, German, Dutch, Spanish, English,
Italian and even a bit of haphazard Arabic and Russian.Christian had
three younger siblings, a sister, actress Ariadna Gloria Welter
(1930â€"1998), and two brothers, Gerardus Jacob Welter (born 1924) and
Edward Albert Welter (born 1932).In her youth Christian's only
aspiration was to become a physician. After she graduated from
secondary school she had a fortuitous meeting with her screen idol
Errol Flynn, who became her lover, and she was persuaded by him to
give up her hopes of joining the medical profession, move to
Hollywood, and pursue an acting career. Not long after arriving in
Hollywood she was spotted by Louis B. Mayer's secretary at a fashion
show in Beverly Hills. He offered, and she accepted, a seven-year
contract with MGM.
22, 2011) was a Mexican film actress, who appeared in Mexican and
Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s.
She played Mara in the last Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan film Tarzan and
the Mermaids (1948). She is also noted for being the first Bond girl,
appearing in a 1954 television adaptation of the James Bond novel
Casino Royale. In 1963 she starred as Eva Ashley in an episode of The
Alfred Hitchcock Hour titled "An Out for Oscar".Christian was born in
Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, a daughter of Dutch engineer and Royal
Dutch Shell executive Gerardus Jacob Welter (1904â€"1981), and his
Mexican-born wife, the former Blanca Rosa Vorhauer (1901-1992), who
was of Spanish, German and French descent. The Welter family moved a
great deal during Christian's youth, living everywhere from South
America and Europe to the Middle East and Africa. As a result of this
nomadic lifestyle, Christian became an accomplished polyglot with the
ability to speak fluent French, German, Dutch, Spanish, English,
Italian and even a bit of haphazard Arabic and Russian.Christian had
three younger siblings, a sister, actress Ariadna Gloria Welter
(1930â€"1998), and two brothers, Gerardus Jacob Welter (born 1924) and
Edward Albert Welter (born 1932).In her youth Christian's only
aspiration was to become a physician. After she graduated from
secondary school she had a fortuitous meeting with her screen idol
Errol Flynn, who became her lover, and she was persuaded by him to
give up her hopes of joining the medical profession, move to
Hollywood, and pursue an acting career. Not long after arriving in
Hollywood she was spotted by Louis B. Mayer's secretary at a fashion
show in Beverly Hills. He offered, and she accepted, a seven-year
contract with MGM.
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