Miss Vera Miles

PUBLICITY STILL FOR BACK STREET (1961)

Once hailed as the heir apparent to Grace Kelly, the gorgeous and talented Vera Miles (August 23, 1929) was Kelly's equal in cool, patrician blonde beauty; but she was also capable of etching her characterizations with acid -- two of her most memorable, scene-chewing roles were as flat-out bitches, in Autumn Leaves (1956) and Back Street (1961). In the former, she was the sluttish ex-wife of Cliff Robertson; and in the latter, the hell-raising, shrewish, alcoholic wife who drives husband John Gavin into the compassionate arms of Susan Hayward.

Miles' best remembered films, though, are the ones she made for Alfred Hitchcock. She garnered excellent reviews in The Wrong Man (1957), opposite Henry Fonda, and Hitchcock began grooming Miles for superstardom in earnest. She disappointed him greatly, though, when she had to pull out of Vertigo (1958) at the very last minute, as she learned she was pregnant. Hitchcock never completely forgave her, although he did subsequently cast her in perhaps her most famous role as Janet Leigh's sister in Psycho (1960).

Miles continued to act throughout the 1970's, 80's and 90's (including a reprisal of her role as Lila Crane in 1982's Psycho 2); she retired in 1995, and refuses all requests for interviews and public appearances. We sincerely hope that she's leading a contented and peaceful life out of the spotlight. Happy Birthday, Vera Miles!