Biography of Dana Wynter

Dana Wynter (born Dagmar Winter on 8 June 1931 in Berlin; died 5 May 2011 in Ojai, California) was a German-born British actress. She grew up in Britain and southern Africa and later worked mainly in the United States. Her best-known role was Becky Driscoll in Don Siegel's 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Berlin, England and Rhodesia

Wynter was born in Berlin. Her father Peter Winter was a physician; the family later moved to Britain. As a teenager she also lived in Southern Rhodesia, today Zimbabwe. At Rhodes University she began studying medicine, but turned to acting. This early movement between countries remained part of her life story: Berlin, England, southern Africa and later California all belonged to her path.

First roles

After early experience in Britain, Wynter went to the United States. In the 1950s she received film and television roles and was cast by Hollywood studios as an actress with a British inflection. She appeared in D-Day the Sixth of June, Something of Value and other productions, often in roles that required restraint, distance and precise reaction.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

On 5 February 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers was released in the United States. Wynter played Becky Driscoll opposite Kevin McCarthy. The film was later widely read as 1950s science fiction and horror: a story about fear, conformity, loss of individuality and social paranoia. For Wynter, this role remained the most enduringly visible part of her film career.

Film, television and writing

Wynter worked for decades in film and television productions. She appeared in series including The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Wagon Train, The Rockford Files, Magnum, P.I. and Murder, She Wrote. Alongside acting, she later wrote columns and published memories under the title Other People, Other Places.

Family and later years

In 1956 Wynter married lawyer Greg Bautzer; the marriage ended in divorce in 1981. They had one son. In later years she lived in California and remained connected with 1950s film history through interviews, recollections and the renewed attention given to Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Farewell

Dana Wynter died in Ojai on 5 May 2011 from heart failure. She was 79 years old. Her career connects European origins, 1950s Hollywood cinema, long television work and a role that remains part of science-fiction film history.