Lili Gentle (born March 4, 1940) is a former American film and television actress.
Biography
The daughter of J. C. Gentle, she was born in Montgomery, Alabama; soon after her birth the family moved to Birmingham, Alabama. She attended Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, and acted at the Pickwick Theater.
Gentle's participation in the Junior Division of the Miss Alabama contest led to her having a screen test with 20th Century Fox Studios, and that resulted in a seven-year contract. Gentle, who recovered from having polio, was Hollywood's March of Dimes Girl in 1956. In that role she made personal appearances and appeared in televised promotional messages for the March of Dimes fund drive. She was also honorary chairman of the Alabama March of Dimes Campaign. During her time in those roles her sister, Janet, was in an iron lung in Crippled Children's Hospital in Birmingham.
Gentle made her film debut in an uncredited role in Carousel (1956). In 1956, she had bit parts in Teenage Rebel and The Girl Can't Help It, starring Jayne Mansfield. In 1957, she earned a supporting role opposite Mansfield in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?. In 1958, she starred with Tommy Sands in the dramatic-musical Sing, Boy, Sing. Her last film role was in 1962 in Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation.
She frequently acted on television in shows such as The 20th Century Fox Hour (1956); Matinee Theatre (1957); and Playhouse 90 (1957).
Gentle married film executive Richard Zanuck in Santa Monica, California, on January 14, 1958. In February 1958 she announced that she was retiring from acting, preferring to become "just a plain housewife". After they had two daughters, she returned to acting.