Diane Marie Antonia Varsi (February 23, 1938 â€" November 19, 1992)
was an American film actress best known for her performances in Peyton
Place â€" her film debut, for which she was nominated for an Academy
Award â€" and the cult film Wild in the Streets. She left Hollywood to
pursue personal and artistic aims, notably at Bennington College in
Vermont, where she studied poetry with poet and translator Ben Belitt,
among others.Varsi was born in San Mateo, California, a suburb of San
Francisco, the daughter of Beatrice (née DeMerchant) and Russell
Varsi. Varsi unsuccessfully tried to become a model and a restaurant
hostess in her teen years. While in high school, she was called an
"oddball" by her classmates. She often played truant from school to
visit San Francisco, so was labeled a "rebel". She dropped out of
school in her junior year at age 15, failing in all studies, and
saying: "I was bored. I didn't like the social sides - the cliques."
Around the same time, she married an 18-year-old man. Their marriage
was annulled before her son Shawn was born.She joined the San
Francisco ballet in the 1950s and initially planned to become a folk
singer. She later hitchhiked to Los Angeles with a friend.
was an American film actress best known for her performances in Peyton
Place â€" her film debut, for which she was nominated for an Academy
Award â€" and the cult film Wild in the Streets. She left Hollywood to
pursue personal and artistic aims, notably at Bennington College in
Vermont, where she studied poetry with poet and translator Ben Belitt,
among others.Varsi was born in San Mateo, California, a suburb of San
Francisco, the daughter of Beatrice (née DeMerchant) and Russell
Varsi. Varsi unsuccessfully tried to become a model and a restaurant
hostess in her teen years. While in high school, she was called an
"oddball" by her classmates. She often played truant from school to
visit San Francisco, so was labeled a "rebel". She dropped out of
school in her junior year at age 15, failing in all studies, and
saying: "I was bored. I didn't like the social sides - the cliques."
Around the same time, she married an 18-year-old man. Their marriage
was annulled before her son Shawn was born.She joined the San
Francisco ballet in the 1950s and initially planned to become a folk
singer. She later hitchhiked to Los Angeles with a friend.
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