Margia Dean

Who is Margia Dean?

Margia Dean is the stage name of Marguerite Louise Skliris-Alvarez, a former American beauty queen and actress of Greek descent. She was born in Chicago, Illinois but moved to San Francisco, California with her parents at a young age. She began acting at the age of 7, appearing on stage in many child roles and later won the Women's National Shakespeare Contest for her role as Juliet in a production of Romeo and Juliet. She also took up modeling and was named "Miss San Francisco" and "Miss California" in 1939. She was runner-up to Patricia Donnelly in the 1939 "Miss America" competition.

She made her feature film debut in Casanova in Burlesque and adopted her stage name, Margia Dean. Although never under contract to a studio, most of the films, some 16 in all, she made were for the producer Robert L. Lippert. Her first leading role was in Shep Come Home and roles followed in Red Desert, The Lonesome Trail, Villa!! and Seven Women from Hell. Her association with Robert L. Lippert led to her being cast in The Quatermass Xperiment, the first Hammer horror film.