Actress Sharon Tate: biography, personal life, filmography, cause of death

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

This actress was called an angel by many, she was always so kind and sweet. She looked like an angel: blond, beautiful, with an open look of wide-open eyes. Such was Sharon (Sharon) Tate - an actress whose life was tragically cut short just when she was so happy. Our article will tell about Sharon's biography, work in cinema, her personal life and the cause of her death.

Brief biography of Sharon Tate

American model and movie star was born in 1943 on August 9th in Dallas. She was a beautiful child and won several beauty contests at an early age. Photos of Sharon began to appear early in glossy magazines.

In the early 60s, a grown-up girl begins acting in unpretentious television series, where she gets very tiny minor roles. Until 1969 - the year of her death - she played only thirteen diverse roles, mostly comedy.

In her short life, the actress managed to achieve fame, create in the cinemaseveral vivid images. She also fell deeply in love and married a successful American director.

This is a brief biography of the star of the sixties. Now let's talk more about the events of her life.

Sharon's childhood

The heroine of our article was the eldest daughter of Colonel James Tate and his wife Doris Tate. When little Sharon was only six months old, she already became the owner of the title "Miss Baby" at the children's beauty pageant, held annually in Dallas.

The parents were immensely proud of their little princess, but so far they had no plans for their daughter's serious participation in show business.

Because the head of the family was in the military, Sharon's family had to move frequently. From the moment of birth until 1959, the girls changed their place of residence six times. Perhaps because of this, Sharon Tate had difficulty getting along with other children.

Parents were seriously concerned about her timidity. They believed that the girl was suffering from an inferiority complex and self-doubt.

Young years. First steps in cinema

To the people around, young Sharon often seemed cold and unapproachable. She wasn't really like that, it was just that her natural shyness made her feel reserved.

She was unusually attractive, but the mother had to persuade her daughter to participate in beauty contests. In 1959, at one of these events, Sharon won the title of "Miss Richland". In the future, the girl plannedto take part in the Miss Washington pageant, but her father was unexpectedly transferred to Italy, and young Sharon ended up in Verona with her family.

In the new place, the girl was able to make friends for the first time. Together with a group of peers, Sharon ran to the set of the film "The Adventures of a Young Man" to participate in crowd scenes there.

Richard Beymer, the actor who played one of the main roles in the film, immediately spotted a bright young lady. He invited the girl for walks several times and convinced her in every possible way that she must become an actress.

In 1961, Sharon Tate was invited to participate in the filming of a television musical program. On the TV screen, the girl looked simply charming. Further, the young beauty is introduced into the crowd of the film "Barabbas". The girl makes a great impression on filmmakers and she is invited to screen tests in Rome. True, these tests brought the girl only disappointment.

However, she has already seriously set fire to the desire to become an actress. Sharon Tate persuades her parents to let her go to the USA; there she struggles to find film work. When it seems to her that luck is already close, it turns out that her mother was too exhausted in Verona, worrying about Sharon. Loving her loved ones and not wanting to cause them further trouble, the girl is forced to go back to Italy.

She was able to return to the world of cinema only after her family returned to the United States in 1962. By this time, Sharon already had some connections in the artistic environment, which helped her start acting in commercials for television. A little later, she was entrusted with a small role of a comedic character in the series "Beverly Hills Hillbilly", in 1963 Sharon starred in the series "Hollywood and its Stars", in 1964 - in "Agents of A. N. K. L."

Personal life - first loves

Sharon Tate was fantastic. Is it any wonder that many men went crazy over her. But Sharon was characterized by seriousness and restraint. She did not want to exchange for ordinary intrigues, she was waiting for great love.

In 1962, Tate fell in love with French actor Philippe Forque. This romance ended with an engagement. However, for some reason, the relationship between the lovers did not develop in any way. Sharon and Philip constantly quarreled. The engagement was eventually called off by mutual consent.

In 1964, the girl has another chance to get married. Jay Sebring, a Hollywood fashion stylist, proposed to her. Tate really liked this man, he had a gentle character, a stable position in the world of cinema, but still she refused Jay. At the time, she believed that marriage might interfere with her plans to become a famous film actress.

Developing a film career

In 1965, Sharon Tate finally managed to get the first notable role in the film "The Devil's Eye". The film starred such famous Hollywood actors as Deborah Kerr, David Niven and David Hemmings.

Sharon got the role of the witch Odile, who, with the help of sorcery spells, subjugates the family of a marquis engaged inwinemaking.

After the film was completed, David Niven, the lead actor, described Sharon as the "great discovery" of the film. The young actress felt success for the first time.

Perhaps it was after participating in the horror film "Devil's Eye" that some mystical curse hung over Sharon Tate's life, and this was one of the reasons for her death. Without knowing it, she awakened the forces of evil and attracted their attention to herself. Now, step by step, she moved towards the fateful day, her tragic finale.

Introducing Roman Polanski

The shooting of the film "Devil's Eye" took place mainly in England. After completing the filming process, the actress decided not to return home immediately, but to spend some time in London.

There she plunges headlong into the world of fashion and artistic bohemian nightlife, where she meets the young director Roman Polanski. Then they did not yet know that this short acquaintance would develop over time into a marriage and creative union.

Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski sometimes called each other, occasionally met. Sharon couldn't understand why the director was behaving so strangely around her. At meetings, he was somehow deliberately untied. His appearance also did not impress the girl. Roman was shorter than her and not very handsome.

The reason for the cheeky behavior of the young man in the presence of Tate was later explained: he was terribly shy of beautiful women, and Tate, in addition, really liked him.

After a while, Polanski had to startfor the filming of "Dance of the Vampires". In 1967, he is looking for an actress for the role of the main character. At first, he does not even consider Sharon as a contender. And yet it was she who was destined to play the red-haired beauty Sarah.

Vampire Ball

The 1967 film brought Sharon real popularity and fame. However, the actress experienced many difficulties during the filming period. She lacked confidence and experience. Sometimes the director had to do up to 70 takes of one scene with Sharon. Polanski himself played in the "Dance of the Vampires" the role of a young eccentric who is in love with the heroine Tate. All this contributed to the further development of the relationship between the actress and the director.

Marriage union

Sharon Tate and Polanski got married in England, in Chelsea, in 1967. Subsequently, their couple began to appear frequently in the scandalous gossip column. After getting married, the couple moved to live in a villa in Beverly Hills.

They were very in love with each other and happy. Polanski admires his wife and constantly photographs her. He takes pictures of her even when she is sleeping.

Even before marriage, Tate once asked Roman what his ideal woman was, and he replied that she was his ideal. Then he paused and added that he would like Sharon to remain beautiful and young forever and never change. The girl shared this with her friend.

After Tate's death, her friend recalled Polanski's wish with horror. She saidreporters: it was those words that could cause the imminent death of his wife. After all, Sharon remained forever young because of her early death.

Creative success

Simultaneously with the success in his personal life, the creative career of Sharon Tate is rapidly going up. "Valley of the Dolls" - a film released in 1967, brought her a Golden Globe nomination and worldwide fame.

If earlier the actress played mainly comedic roles, this time she got a dramatic image. Her character is an actress who is trying to break into fame. The script was so close to our heroine.

Expecting a baby

Sharon quickly became pregnant, and the couple was incredibly happy about this fact. Their first child was due in the late summer of 1969. Roman and Sharon spent the spring in Europe. There are many photos of the pregnant actress that date back to this period. Her husband took pictures of her constantly. His beautiful wife was so touching with her round belly.

However, it's time to part. Polanski was due to start filming Dolphin Day, and Tate returned to America to prepare for childbirth and wait for her husband to return home.

In separation, Sharon was very homesick, she constantly called London, begging Roman to come as soon as possible. She had a bad feeling.

How actress Sharon Tate died

The cause of death of a young, promising actress and expectant mother should not be sought in a mystical set of circumstances. reality wasmuch scarier.

On the evening of August 9, 1969, several friends were visiting Sharon's house. The youth started a small party. Roman was finally due to return two days later, and Tate was expected to give birth two weeks later.

Four strangers armed with knives and firearms entered the house at night. As it later turned out, they all belonged to members of the sect of admirers of Charles Manson, the founder of the cult of Satan. Three of the four killers are girls.

Both Sharon herself and all her guests were brutally murdered. The actress suffered 16 stab wounds. She desperately fought for her life and the life of the child, begged the killers to leave her life. It was all in vain.

The same night, the gang visited another peaceful mansion with the owners sleeping in it, and those also suffered a terrible fate. In the 60s, people were gullible and careless, many doors were not locked, no one really cared about the security of their homes, because crimes were extremely rare.

When the people of Beverly Hills found out how Sharon Tate was murdered, everything changed. From now on, the Americans began to turn their homes into impregnable fortresses.

Funeral actress, burial place

The phone rang in London in the morning, Polanski answered the phone and heard that his wife and child were no longer alive. The director was crushed by this news. Friends had to call him a doctor, his mental state was so difficult.

At the funeral, the director cried and clung to the arms of Tate's mother and her sister all the time. Sharon was buried in a closedcoffin, in her hands she held her child.

Sharon Tate's burial place is Holy Cross Cemetery in California.

Filmography

In her short life, the actress managed to star in only 13 films, the roles in some of them were so small that her name was not even indicated in the credits. Here is a partial list of Tate's paintings:

• the series "Mr. Ed";
• TV series "Beverly Hills Hillbilly";
• series "Agents of A. N. K. L.";
• TV series "Hollywood and its stars";
• "Barabbas";
• "Devil's eye";
• "Vampire Ball";
• "Don't make waves";
• "Valley of the Dolls";
• "Destroyer Team";
• "One of thirteen".

Closing word

The cause of Sharon Tate's death was an evil that completely captured the souls of several scoundrels. We will never know what kind of actress Sharon could become later, what kind of person her unborn child would grow up to be.

The killers of the actress were arrested and sentenced to death. Subsequently, this sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. The organizer of the murder of the actress - Charles Manson - died in prison in 2017, at the age of 83.

In 2004, a film about Sharon Tate and the Manson sect was made. This tape is called "Helter Skelter".