The star of 'Pillow Talk' and singer of 'Move Over, Darling' was born in Ohio USA. When she began performing she adopted 'Day' instead of her real surname Von Kappelhoff.
By 1959 she was a hugely successful film actress, loved by the public for her ability to portray strong-willed comic characters. Throughout the 1960s she was one of the top female American movie stars but by the end of the decade 'the girl next door' lost out in the sexual revolution and her own choices of film failed to move with the times. (She famously turned down the role of Mrs Robinson in 'The Graduate'.)
By the early 1970s she had begun to focus her energies on animals instead. In 1971 she co-founded 'Actors and Others for Animals' and denounced the wearing of fur. Later she organised 'Spay Day USA'.
Her last album 'The Love Album' was released in 1994 but she is still considered as one of the most enduring all-round stars.