Ingrid Pitt Actress - Born November 21, 1937 in Czestochowa, Poland

Died November 23, 2010 in London, England, UK (heart failure)

Birth Name Ingoushka Petrov

Nickname The Queen of Gothic Horror

Height 5' 5½" (1.66 m)

Mini Bio (1) Best known as Hammer Films' most seductive female vampire of the early 1970s, the Polish-born Pitt possessed dark, alluring features and a sexy figure that made her just right for Gothic horror! Ingrid Pitt (born Ingoushka Petrov) survived World War II and became a well-known actress on the East Berlin stage, however, she did not appear on screen until well into her twenties. She appeared in several minor roles in Spanish films in the mid 1960s, mostly uncredited, before landing the supporting role of undercover agent "Heidi", assisting Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton defeat the Third Reich in Where Eagles Dare (1968).

Her exotic looks and eastern European accent came to the notice of Hammer executives who cast Pitt as vampiress "Mircalla" in the sensual horror thriller The Vampire Lovers (1970). The film was a box office success with its blend of horror and sexual overtones, and Pitt was a beautiful, yet ferocious bloodsucker. Next up, Pitt was cast by Amicus Productions as another gorgeous vampire in the episode entitled "The Cloak" in the superb The House That Dripped Blood (1971). This time, Ingrid played an actress appearing in horror films alongside screen vampire Jon Pertwee, but then later reveals herself to be a real vampire keen on recruiting fresh blood.

Ingrid donned the fangs for her third vampire film in a row, Countess Dracula (1971) which was loosely based around the legend of the 16th century bloodthirsty Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Whilst not as successful, as the two prior outings, Ingrid Pitt had firmly established herself as one of the key ladies of British horror of the 1970s. She then appeared in the underrated The Wicker Man (1973) as an uncooperative civil servant annoying Edward Woodward in his search for a missing child. Further work followed in The Final Option (1982), as "Elvira" in the adaptation of the John le Carré Cold War thriller Smiley's People (1982), Wild Geese II (1985) and The Asylum (2000).

Ingrid Pitt made regular appearances at horror conventions and fan gatherings, had penned several books on her horror career, and she relished talking to fans about her on screen vampiric exploits. Ingrid's fan club is known as the "Pitt of Horror"! A much loved and genuine cult figure of modern horror cinema, she died on November 23, 2010, just two days after her 73rd birthday.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: firehouse44@hotmail.com

Tony Rudlin (1999 - 23 November 2010) (her death)

George Pinches (1972 - ?) (divorced)

Laud Roland Pitt Jr. (? - ?) (divorced)

Trade Mark (5) 1. Roles in Hammer Horror films 2. Natural brunette hair 3. Sparkling green eyes 4. Voluptuous figure 5. Deep sultry voice

Personal life Pitt married three times: Laud Roland Pitt Jr, an American GI; George Pinches, a British film executive; and Tony Rudlin, a writer and racing car driver. Her daughter, Steffanie Pitt-Blake, is also an actress.

She had a passion for World War II aircraft. After revealing this on a radio program, she was invited by the museum at RAF Duxford to have a flight in a Lancaster bomber. She held a student's pilot licence and a black belt in karate.

******* Old Data ******

According to early publicity reports, Polish actress Ingrid Pitt was born in 1943 while her parents were being shipped to a Nazi concentration camp. However, Pitt lists her date of birth as November of 1945, by which time the camps had been abolished. Whatever the case, she survived the war to become a leading actress on the East Berlin stage. She made her film debut in a Spanish bullfighting picture, then spent many years playing decorative roles in international productions filmed on location in Spain: Doctor Zhivago (1965), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), Chimes at Midnight (1967), Where Eagles Dare (1969), among others. Pitt did not attain her "cult" status in films of that nature; instead, she won the hearts of gothic horror fans for her sensuous, stylish work in such films as The Vampire Lovers (1971) -- in which, as lesbian vampire Carmilla, she literally loses her head to Peter Cushing -- Countess Dracula (1973), and The Wicker Man (1977). Ingrid Pitt is most familiar to televiewers for her performance as Elvira in the 1982 British miniseries Smiley's People.

http://www.allmovie.com/artist/ingrid-pitt-p56991