Veronica Hurst

She was born Patricia Wilmshurst on the island of Malta and grew up in London. A honey blonde, green-eyed beauty, she won a scholarship to RADA at 17. Graduating two years later, she debuted in Mario Zampi's comedy Laughter in Paradise (1951), alongside fellow screen newcomer Audrey Hepburn. Zampi saw her as a significant potential talent and this undoubtedly led to Veronica being signed to a seven year contract by Associated British Pictures at Elstree Studios at the (then princely) salary of £2500 a year. Her first notable movie credit was playing second fiddle to Dulcie Gray in the stiff-upper-lip war picture Angels One Five (1952), starring Jack Hawkins and John Gregson as fighter pilots during the Battle of Britain. She was then flown to Hollywood to star opposite Richard Carlson in The Maze (1953), a 3-D gothic horror thriller set in a Scottish castle. Directed and designed by the renowned William Cameron Menzies, it opened to mixed reviews but has since gained a cult following.