Nutty Professor Actress Stella Stevens Dies Aged 84

Stella Stevens lost her battle with Alzheimer’s disease and passed away at the age of 84.

 

The Poseidon Adventure and The Nutty Professor were the films in which the actress was most recognized.

 

Deadline received confirmation from her son, Andrew Stevens, that she had passed away.

 

Stella Stevens was one of the most amazing and talented people I have ever dealt with, and it was a pleasure and a delight to manage her, said Stevens’ manager and close friend Maria Calabrese.

“While I truly wish I could have done more for her toward the latter years of her career and shared in her frustration as she so wanted to make the leap from a triple threat American icon to producer – her wish, never realized, was to have three original Western scripts produced.

“She was an amazing animal lover, horse wrangler, rock and roller, so ahead of her time and so much more than a sex symbol – which her adoring fans admired her for and understood.

“What a tremendous body of work and loss. She was the OG of strong Hollywood women.”

While attending college, Stevens developed her performing skills. She made her film debut in 1959 with Say One For Me, costarring Bing Crosby.

She won the Golden Globe for the movie’s most promising newcomer after garnering positive reviews for the part.

She continued to model for Playboy in 1960, earning the desired centerfold spot in January of that year.

Alongside Elvis Presley, Stevens went on to command attention in the films The Courtship of Eddie’s Father and the Silencers as well as Girls! Girls! Girls!

She played enamored student Stella Purdy in the original The Nutty Professor opposite Jerry Lewis, which earned her one of her most well-known roles.

In 1972, she also starred in The Poseidon Adventure, which garnered eight Oscar nominations and two wins.

Stevens was a mainstay on television as well, appearing in shows including Santa Barbara, The Commish, Magnum PI, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

She last appeared on television in the 2006 film Twenty Good Years, and in the 2010 film Megaconda, she played Mary Jane.

 

When she was 16 years old, the actress married Noble Herman Stephens; the couple received their son Andrew the following year.

 

In 1957, they decided to end their marriage since it would not last.

 

Her son is the only person left.