Brenda Benet

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Brenda Benet, born Brenda Ann Nelson on August 14, 1945, in Los Angeles, was an American actress best known for her work on the soap operas The Young Marrieds and Days of Our Lives, and for a 1968 episode of Hogan’s Heroes.

Early life and talents
She grew up in Los Angeles, later moving with her family to South Gate. Brenda finished high school at South Gate High, studied at Los Angeles City College, and attended UCLA, majoring in languages. She trained with the San Francisco Ballet, performed with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, and was a musician who played piano, flute, and violin. She spoke five languages.

Career
Brenda appeared in Shindig! and The Young Marrieds in the mid-1960s and went on to act in many TV shows, including I Dream of Jeannie, McHale’s Navy, Daniel Boone, Mannix, The Green Hornet, My Three Sons, Hogan’s Heroes, Love, American Style, Wonder Woman, The Love Boat, and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. She had a major film role in Walking Tall (1973). From 1979 to 1982, she played Lee DuMonde on Days of Our Lives.

Personal life
Her first marriage was to actor Paul Petersen in 1967; they divorced in 1970. She then married Bill Bixby in 1971, and they had a son, Christopher Sean, in September 1974. Brenda and Bixby divorced in 1980. She later became involved with her former secretary, Tammy Bruce, with whom she lived for about a year in the early 1980s.

Death
Her son Christopher died in March 1981 after a medical emergency during a ski trip. Brenda Benet died by suicide on April 7, 1982, in Los Angeles, at the age of 36.