Gail Russell (September 21, 1924 - August 27, 1961) was an American actress.
Gail's extraordinary beauty brought her to the attention of Paramount Studios in 1942. Although she was shy and had no acting experience, Paramount had great expectations for her and employed an acting coach to work with her. At the age of 19 she appeared in her first film, Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour] (1943). Gail appeared in several more films in the early and mid 1940s, the most notable being Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944), in which she co-starred with Diana Lynn. Gail later appeared in the more popular films, Calcutta (1947) with Alan Ladd, and Angel and the Badman (1947) with John Wayne. She continued working after 1947, and married Guy Madison in 1949, but by 1950 it was well known that she had become a victim of alcoholism, and Paramount did not renew her contract.
Over the next 10 years she tried to regain control of her life. She divorced Madison in 1954, and returned to work in a minor role in the western Seven Men From Now (1956), and had a bigger role in The Tattered Dress (1957). She appeared in two more films after that, but was not able to control her addiction, and on August 26, 1961, Gail was found dead in her apartment in Los Angeles, California at the age of 36. Her death was attributed to alcohol.
