Celebrity Biographies
venetia stevenson
Called “the most photogenic woman in the world”, she appeared on magazine covers and feature films. Actress Venetia Stevenson passed away in Atlanta on September 26, 2022, at the age of 84, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. “We expected it because she hasn’t been well for a long time, but she has lived many years, which have been very fruitful,” says her brother, also an actor Jeffrey Byron.
Born in London in 1938, Joanna Venetia Invicta Stevenson—her full name—was the daughter of Robert Stevenson , the Oscar-nominated director of Mary Poppins , and Anna Lee , John Ford ‘s muse dubbed the “British bombshell.” The family moved to Hollywood when her daughter was less than a year old, because the patriarch had just signed a contract with producer David O. Selznick .
Venetia Stevenson was 14 years old when photographer Peter Gowland discovered her on a beach. After becoming a regular magazine cover model in the early 1950s, she signed an acting contract with RKO Pictures in 1956. After several television roles, she became one of the leads in The Young Raiders , with James Garner . She would go on to appear in films such as 1959’s Island of Lost Women and 1960’s Horror Hotel opposite Christopher Lee .
Divorced in 1957 from fellow actor Russ Tamblyn, Venetia Stevenson would later be romantically linked to Audie Murphy, as well as the god of rock and roll Elvis Presley , and the also famous musician Don Everly. After marrying the latter, she gave up acting after filming The Sergeant Was a Lady in 1961.
The couple had three children, Edan, Erin (who would marry Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses, serving as the inspiration for the popular theme song “Sweet Child O’ Mine”), and Stacy. Venetia Stevenson separated from Don Everly in 1969. The actress never remarried.