Erica Gavin (born Donna Graff; July 22, 1947) is an American film actress best known for playing the title role in Russ Meyer's 1968 film '' Vixen!''.

Early years

Gavin was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, daughter of blacklisted actor Fred Graff and Madeleine Rosenteil. At age 19, she worked as a topless dancer in Hollywood with two other future Russ Meyer stars,

Haji Hajji (; sometimes spelled Hajjeh, Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. Etymology ''Hajji'' is derived from the Arabic ' (), which ...

and Tura Satana. While waiting in a dentist's office, she saw an advertisement in ''Variety'' for women to audition for the new Russ Meyer movie ''Vixen!'' She auditioned and won the role, which launched her to stardom in low-budget independent films.

Career

Following ''Vixen!'', Gavin appeared in one more Russ Meyer film, '' Beyond the Valley of the Dolls'', written by famed film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

. She also appeared in

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, whose career directing, producing, and screenwriting spanned more than 30 years and 70 feature films, documentaries, and television productions. He was an ...

's women-in-prison film '' Caged Heat''. ''Filmink'' argued she should have become a bigger star.

Personal life

Gavin resides in

, where she works as a stylist and occasionally makes appearances at movie memorabilia conventions. She said in a 2006 interview that she is

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

Filmography

*''Initiation'' (1968) - Jan *'' Vixen!'' (1968) - Vixen Palmer *'' Beyond the Valley of the Dolls'' (1970) - Roxanne *''Erika's Hot Summer'' (1971) - Erika *''Godmonster of Indian Flats'' (1973) - Girl at bar *'' Caged Heat'' (1974) - Jacqueline Wilson *'' 3 Stories About Evil'' (2008) - Mrs. Harris

References

External links

Official site
* *
An Interview With Erica Gavin at Rock! Shock! Pop!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavin, Erica American film actresses 20th-century American actresses 1947 births Living people Actresses from Los Angeles American bisexual actresses LGBTQ people from California 21st-century American actresses