All The Babes
Vera Miles
Career
Active 1950 – 1995
Biography
About Vera Miles
With her brown hair and hazel eyes, Vera Miles carries an athletic 5'3" frame, a presence that made her one of Hollywood's most reliable leading ladies across four decades. She retired from acting in 1995, leaving behind a career that began in 1950 when she was about 19. Born in Boise City, Oklahoma, on August 23, 1930, she grew up in Kansas, graduating from Wichita North High School in 1948, and was crowned Miss Kansas that same year, later finishing as third runner-up in the Miss America contest.
Miles's filmography is studded with memorable roles. She is best known for playing Lila Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and reprising the part in Richard Franklin's sequel Psycho II (1983). She also appeared in John Ford's Westerns The Searchers (1956) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Other notable credits include The Wrong Man (1956), also directed by Hitchcock, Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (1955), Follow Me, Boys! (1966), Hellfighters (1968), and Molly and Lawless John (1972). Her television work was equally extensive, with guest spots on The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, The Outer Limits, and Murder, She Wrote, among many others.
Early in her career, Miles moved to Los Angeles in 1949 and worked her way up from small roles, eventually signing a five-year contract with Hitchcock in 1957, who briefly saw her as a successor to Grace Kelly. She had a personal life as eventful as her professional one, marrying four times, including to actor Gordon Scott, her co-star in Tarzan's Hidden Jungle. She also supported Dwight D. Eisenhower's re-election in 1956.
Record
Profile details
Personal
- Years Active
- 1950-1995 (started around 19 years old; 45 years active)
- Birthplace
- Boise City, Oklahoma, United States
- Ethnicity
- Caucasian
- Sexuality
- Straight
Body
- Hair Color
- Brown
- Eye Color
- Hazel
- Weight
- 115 lbs (or 52 kg)
- Measurements
- 34–24–33 (B–W–H) · WHR 0.73
- Bra/Cup Size
- 34B show conversions - UK: 34B, EU: 75B, AU: 12B, JP: 75B
- Boobs
- Real/Natural
Frequently asked
What was Vera Miles's connection to Alfred Hitchcock beyond Psycho?
She signed a five-year personal contract with Hitchcock in 1957, and he had considered her as a potential successor to Grace Kelly. She also starred in The Wrong Man (1956) and appeared in episodes of his TV series.
Did Vera Miles appear in any sequels to Psycho?
Yes, she reprised her role as Lila Crane in Psycho II (1983), more than two decades after the original. She was one of only two original cast members to return.
Was Vera Miles ever a beauty queen?
Yes, she was crowned Miss Kansas in 1948 and was the third runner-up in the Miss America contest that year.
How did Vera Miles get her stage name?
She used her first husband's last name, Miles, because there was already a film actress named Vera Ralston.
Did you know
- Vera Miles lost the lead role in Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) due to a pregnancy, and the part went to Kim Novak.
- In Hellfighters (1968), she played Katharine Ross's mother, though she was only nine years older than Ross.
- Her scenes with John Wayne in The Green Berets (1968) were cut because Warner Bros. wanted more action.
- She supported Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1956 presidential election.
- Her grandson, Jordan Essoe, met with Jessica Biel in 2012 for Biel's portrayal of Miles in the film Hitchcock.
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