Lee Meriwether | 86 years old

Lee Meriwether is a former model who won the title of Miss America in 1955. She is best known for her role as Betty Jones in the long-running 1970s drama series Barnaby Jones. The same performance earned her an Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Award nominations. Her reign as Miss America catapulted her into the spotlight, forever altering her life. The Today Show called her midway through her first year on tour as Miss America and offered her a job as their first on-air women’s editor. Her appearance on the show piqued her interest in pursuing an acting career.

Merriwether then got her first acting job in 1954, appearing in three episodes of The Philco Television Playhouse. She continued to add more to her film credits with roles in the CBS sitcom The Lloyd Bridges Show and the ABC sitcom I’m Dickens, He’s Fester. Lately, she hasn’t been seen in front of the camera after Rising of the Catwoman: Kaplan’s Corner. However, it can’t be contested that she had a significant influence on the acting industry over the years.