Susan Kohner

Susan Kohner is an American actress who retired from acting. Born in Los Angeles, she worked mainly in film, television, and theater in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her film roles included The Gene Krupa Story (1959) and Dino (1957), both with Sal Mineo, plus All the Fine Young Cannibals with Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner. Her best-known part was Sarah Jane in Imitation of Life (1959), a Black woman who conceals her heritage to pass as white. The Ross Hunter production, directed by Douglas Sirk, was a box-office hit and earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination and two Golden Globes. She made her television debut in 1956 on The Alcoa Hour and later guest-starred on Temple Houston, Going My Way, and Hong Kong. Her last film was Freud: The Secret Passion (1962), with Montgomery Clift, and she retired in 1964. On Broadway she appeared in Love Me Little in 1958.