Today is the 87th birthday of the actress Diana Dors. Her life was the classic plucked-from-obsurity into fame. She was smart about it and used it to her benefit. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

NAME: Diana Dors
OCCUPATION: Actress, Pin-up
BIRTH DATE: October 23, 1931
DEATH DATE: May 4, 1984
EDUCATION: Royal Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts
PLACE OF BIRTH: Swindon, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom
PLACE OF DEATH: Windsor, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom
REMAINS: Buried, Sunningdale Catholic Cemetery, Sunningdale, Berkshire, England

BEST KNOWN FOR: Actress Diana Dors was Britain’s forerunner to Marilyn Monroe, remembered for bringing talent and sensuality to British cinema.

The railway town of Swindon was an unprepossessing start for a starlet, but Diana Dors, born Diana Mary Fluck on October 23, 1931…