| Biography 
Kim Novak was born in Chicago, Illinois on February  13,  1933  with
  the  birth  name of Marilyn Pauline Novak, she was the daughter of a
  former teacher turned transit clerk and  his  wife,  also  a  former
  teacher.  Throughout  elementary  and  high  school, Kim did not get
  along well with teachers. She even admitted  that  she  didn't  like
  being  told  what to do and when to do it. Her first job, after high
  school, was modeling teen fashions for  a  local  department  store.
  Kim,  later, won a scholarship in a modeling school and continued to
  model part time. Kim later worked odd jobs as an elevator  operator,
  sales  clerk,  and a dental assistant. The jobs never seemed to work
  out so she fell back on modeling, the one job she did well. After  a
  stint  on  the  road as a spokesperson for an appliance company, Kim
  decided to go to Los Angeles and try her  luck  at  modeling  there.
  Ultimately,  her  modeling  landed her an uncredited role in the RKO
  production of THE FRENCH LINE (1954). The role  encompassed  nothing
  more  than  being  seen  on  a  set  of stairs. Later a talent agent
  arranged for a screen test with Columbia Pictures and  won  a  small
  six  month  contract. In truth, some of the studio hierarchy thought
  that Kim was Columbia's answer  to  Marilyn  Monroe.  Kim,  who  was
  still  going  by her own name of Marilyn, was originally going to be
  called Kit Marlowe. She wanted to at least keep her family  name  of
  Novak,  so  the  young  actress  and studio personnel settled on Kim
  Novak. After taking some acting lessons, which the  studio  declined
  to  pay  for, Kim appeared in her first film opposite Fred MacMurray
  in 1954's PUSHOVER. Though her role as Lona McLane wasn't exactly  a
  great  one,  it  was  her beautiful looks that seemed to capture the
  eyes of the critics. Later that year,  Kim  appeared  in  the  film,
  PHFFFT!  with  Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday. Now more and more fans
  were eager to see this bright new star.  These  two  films  set  the
  tone  for her career with a lot of fan mail coming her way. Her next
  film was as Kay Greylek in 1955's FIVE AGAINST THE HOUSE.  The  film
  was  well-received,  but  it was her next one for that year that was
  her best to date. The film was PICNIC. Although  Kim  did  a  superb
  job  of  acting in the film as did her costars, the film did win two
  Oscars for editing and set decoration.  Kim's  next  film  was  with
  United  Artist's  on  a loan out in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM. Her
  performance was flawless, but it was was Kim's beauty  that  carried
  the  day.  The film was a big hit. In 1957, Kim played Linda English
  in the hit movie PAL JOEY with Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth.  The
  film  did  very  well  at  the  box-office, but was crucified by the
  critics. Kim really didn't seem that interested  in  the  role.  She
  even  said she couldn't stand people such as her character. In 1958,
  Kim appeared in a dual role of Judy Barton and Madeleine  Elster  in
  Alfred  Hitchcock's,  now  classic, VERTIGO with Jimmy Stewart. This
  film's plot was one that thoroughly entertained the theater  patrons
  wherever  it  played. The film was one in which Stewart's character,
  a detective, is hired to tail a friend's wife  (Kim)  and  witnesses
  her  "suicide".  In  the end Stewart finds that he has been duped in
  an elaborate scheme. Her next film was BELL, BOOK AND  CANDLE  which
  didn't  fare  as  well at the box-office. By the early, 1960's Kim's
  star was beginning to fall especially with the rise of new stars  or
  stars  that  were remodeling their status within the film community.
  With a few more  non-descript  films  between  1960  and  1964,  she
  landed  the  role  of  Mildred  Rogers in OF HUMAN BONDAGE. The film
  debuted to good reviews. After  1965's  THE  AMOROUS  ADVENTURES  OF
  MOLL  FLANDERS,  Kim  stepped  away  from  the  cameras for a while,
  returning in 1968 to star in THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE. It  flopped.
  After  that,  Kim,  basically,  was  able  to pick what projects she
  wanted. After THE GREAT BANK ROBBERY  in  1969,  Kim  was  away  for
  another  four  years until she was seen in a television movie called
  THE THIRD GIRL FROM THE LEFT. Subsequent films were not the type  to
  get  the  critics to sit up and take notice. In 1981, Kim played, of
  all people, Kit Marlowe in the TV  series  Falcon  Crest.  Her  last
  film, on the silver screen, was LIEBESTRAUM in 1991.
 Biography courtesy of the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com).
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