Yvette Mimieux, who starred in the 1960 science fiction classic The Time Machine, has died. She was 80. Mimieux acted on the big and small screens until her retirement in 1992.
Mimieux died just weeks after turning 80. She passed away in her sleep from natural causes, a representative for her family told Deadline. Her family does not plan to hold a memorial service, as Mimieux kept her private life out of the spotlight. She married her third husband, Howard Ruby, in 1986 and had no children.
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Mimieux was born in Los Angeles to Renรฉ Mimieux and Maria Montemayor. She was first seen on television in 1959 before she played Weena in George Pal’s beloved adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. Although Platinum High School was released just before The Time Machine, it was the sci-fi movie that made her an instant star.
After The Time Machine, Mimiuex earned a long-term MGM contract and struggled to find more challenging roles. Some of her other MGM movies included Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1961), Light in the Piazza (1962), and The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1963). She also starred opposite Dean Martin in Toys in the Attic (1963).
By 1965, Mimiuex was out of MGM but continued appearing in major movies alongside major stars. In 1968, she worked with The Time Machine star Rod Taylor again in Dark of the Sun and appeared with Albert Finney in 1969’s The Picasso Summer. She also starred in the Disney movies Monkeys, Go Home! (1967) and The Black Hole (1979). Mimiuex’s TV credits include The Love Boat, Berrenger’s, Lime Street, The Most Deadly Gameย and Dr. Kildare.ย
Although Mimieux continued working regularly, she was not happy with the parts she was offered. “The women they [male screenwriters] write are all one dimensional. They have no complexity in their lives. It’s all surface,” she was quoted as saying. “There’s nothing to play. They’re either sex objects or vanilla pudding.”
In 1984, she starred in the TV movie Obsessive Love, which she also co-wrote. The film was about a stalker and was inspired by John Hinkley. Her last project was the 1992 miniseries based on Jackie Collins’ novel Lady Boss. She retired from acting and pursued other interests, including selling real estate, studying archaeology, selling Haitian products, and traveling, reports Deadline. She is survived by Ruby, the founder of Oakwood Worldwide. ย
