Jill St John Biography

American actress Jill St John gained notoriety in the early 60s for roles such as the comedy Come Blow Your Horn. Although she was an early screen bombshell, St John’s sex symbol status was not widespread until her portrayal of a “Bond Girl” in Diamonds Are Forever.

Jill Arlyn Oppenheim, known popularly as Jill St John, was born August 19, 1940 in Los Angeles, California. Her mother was Betty Lou Oppenheim.

In addition to her acting career, St John is noted for possessing an IQ of 162 and attending the University of California, Los Angeles when she was only fourteen years old.

Setting her sights on acting early on, St John made her onscreen debut in 1949 with Sandy Dreams. In 1951, she moved onto The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show for two episodes.

She had a turn in the 1959 comedy The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker before appearing in 1960’s The Lost World opposite Michael Rennie, David Hedison, and Claude Rains.

It was 1963, however, that offered St John her breakout role. Playing Peggy John in the comedy Come Blow Your Horn, St John not only shared the screen with Frank Sinatra and Lee J Cobb, she also earned a Golden Globe nomination for her efforts.

Finding her niche in zany comedies, St John costarred with Jerry Lewis in Who’s Minding the Store? and Dean Martin in Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?

She continued to act steadily and gained her largest exposure to date with the 1971 James Bond installment Diamonds Are Forever. She portrayed Tiffany Case to Sean Connery’s lead.

After this considerable exposure, St John shifted the focus of her career slightly, appearing throughout the 80s in a slew of television productions. Most notably, she had a four episode appearance on The Love Boat as well as nineteen episodes on Emerald Point NAS with Maud Adams and Richard Dean Anderson.

More recently, she played Mrs. Abbott on the now famous Seinfeld episode “The Yada Yada.” She appeared beside cast regulars Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Michael Richards, and Jason Alexander.

She also took a role in Something to Believe In, The Trip, and her latest project, The Calling, with Faye Dunaway.

In her personal life, St John has been married four separate times. Her first husband was Neil Durbin, but the marriage only lasted from 1957 to 1958. She then married Lance Reventlow, and they were together from 1960 to 1963. Her third husband, Jack Jones, didn’t fare much better. Their marriage only lasted from 1967 to 1969.

The fourth time proved a charm, however, as she married fellow actor Robert Wagner on May 26, 1990. They are currently still together.

In addition to her marriages, she was also romantically linked to Barry Coe, David Frost, George Montgomery, Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Oleg Cassini, Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, and Henry Kissinger.