May Britt, the Swedish-born actress whose career and personal life placed her at the center of one of America’s most controversial interracial marriages, has died at 91. Her son confirmed she died of natural causes on December 11 in Los Angeles.
Born Maj-Britt Wilkens in Sweden in 1934, she was discovered in the early 1950s and began her film career in Italy before gaining international attention in War and Peace (1956). She moved to Hollywood later that decade, starring opposite Robert Mitchum and Marlon Brando, and rose to fame in the 1959 remake of The Blue Angel, which earned her a Life magazine cover.
In 1960, Britt married entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., a union that sparked widespread backlash during a time when interracial marriage was still illegal in parts of the U.S. The hostility affected her career, with 20th Century Fox ending her contract. She later said she never regretted the marriage, stepping away from acting to raise their children.
After divorcing Davis in 1968, Britt briefly returned to acting before retiring in the late 1980s. She spent her later years painting and living quietly in California. She is survived by her sons, grandchildren, and sister; her daughter Tracey died in 2020.