Swedish actress May Britt dies aged 91

May Britt, Swedish actress and the former wife of entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., has died at the age of 91.

The Blue Angel actress died of natural causes at a hospital in Tarzana, California on 11 December, her son Mark Davis told The Hollywood Reporter.

Born Maj-Britt Wilkens in Sweden in 1934, Britt first began her acting career in Italy before signing a contract with 20th Century Fox and relocating to Hollywood in the 1950s.

She starred in films including The Young Lions, opposite Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, and The Hunters with Robert Mitchum and Robert Wagner, before landing her breakthrough role as the young cabaret entertainer Lola-Lola in 1959's The Blue Angel.

Britt met her second husband, Rat Pack star Davis Jr., in 1959 and they got married the following year. Their union was the subject of controversy, as interracial marriage was still banned in the majority of U.S. states, and they had to endure negative press and death threats.

After their marriage, 20th Century Fox executives declined to renew her contract, and Britt stopped acting. She focused on raising their daughter Tracey, who was born in 1961, and their adopted sons Mark and Jeff.

After Britt and Davis Jr. divorced in 1968, the actress resumed her career, appearing in episodes of TV shows such as The Danny Thomas Hour, Mission: Impossible, The Most Deadly Game and The Partners. Her last credited role is an 1988 episode of Probe.

She was married to her third husband, entertainment executive and horse breeder Lennart Ringquist, from 1993 until he died in 2017.

In addition to her sons, Britt is survived by her sister, Margot, and six grandchildren.

Davis Jr. died in 1990 at the age of 64, while their daughter Tracey passed away in November 2020, aged 59.