Born: November 2, 1942 in Hollywood, California
Early days. Her parents divorced during her childhood and her Polish-American mother, Julia Golen, remarried. Powers was a cheerleader at Hollywood High School. In 1965, using the alias Taffy Paul, she made an obscure independent film, The Young Sinner, with future Billy Jack star Tom Laughlin. She developed a serious interest in bullfighting, facing her first bull at the age of twenty. A few years later she became an honorary member of the Mexican bullfighters union and part owner of a bull ring and breeding farm in Texcoco, Mexico.
Career Powers appeared in several motion pictures in the early 1960s in secondary roles such as the thriller Experiment in Terror, the comedy If a Man Answers and in the comedy-Western McLintock! (1963). She played in Tammy Tell Me True (1961) and the in the comedy Palm Springs Weekend (1963). She was also in the 1962 hospital melodrama The Interns and its sequel The New Interns in 1964. In 1965, Powers had a more substantial role playing in the horror film Die! Die! My Darling. Her early television work included Route 66 and Bonanza (both in 1963). In 1966, she starred in the television spy thriller series The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.. Powers' linguistic skills, dance training, and interest in bullfighting were written into several episodes of the series. Shortly after the series' debut, she was featured on the cover of TV Guide In 1967, she was in the film Warning Shot. Her 1970s began with two Disney films, The Boatniks (1970) and Herbie Rides Again. She was a guest star on the series It Takes a Thief in 1970. Guest roles on other popular TV shows include: McCloud (1971), The Mod Squad (1972), Kung Fu (1974), The Rockford Files (1975), Three for the Road (1975), The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman (1976), and McMillan & Wife (1977). Her role in 1979's Escape to Athena with Roger Moore turned out to be Powers' last theatrical film to date. In the 1990s she and Wagner made eight Hart to Hart made-for-TV two-hour movies. She toured the United Kingdom in 2002 in the singing role for a revival of The King and I. She also toured the U.S. in 2004 and 2005 in that role. Powers released her debut CD in 2003, titled, On The Same Page. The album features selections from the classic Great American Songbook era. Since 2006 she has been the U.S. location presenter on the BBC's long running Through the Keyhole panel show.
Prizes and awards. In 2011, she received the Steiger Award (Germany) for accomplishment in the arts. In 1993, she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her stage performance in Love Letters. Powers became widely known as a television star for her role opposite old friend Wagner as a pair of amateur sleuths in the 1979-1984 series Hart to Hart for which she received two Emmy and five Golden Globe Award Best Television Actress nominations. Stefanie Powers has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6778 Hollywood Boulevard.
Personal life. Powers was married to actor Gary Lockwood between 1966 and 1972. She had a relationship with actor William Holden that led to their being involved with wildlife conservation. Following his death in 1981, Powers became President of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation and a director of the Mount Kenya Game Ranch in Kenya. In the United States, she works with both the Cincinnati and Atlanta zoos. She devotes a great deal of time to the cause and is international guest speaker on wildlife preservation. In 1993 she married Patrick Houitte de la Chesnais. They divorced in 1999. Powers has no children. A polo player, she was among the first foreign members of the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club in the United Kingdom. In November 2008 Powers, who was a smoker for twenty years, was diagnosed with lung cancer.
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