Stella Stevens, star of 'The Nutty Professor,' is dead at 84
Stella Stevens, a prominent leading lady in 1960s and '70s comedies who is perhaps best known for playing the object of Jerry Lewis’ affection in “The Nutty Professor,” has died. She was 84. Stevens’ estate says she died Friday in Los Angeles after a long illness. Born Estelle Caro Eggleston in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1938, she made her film debut in a minor role in the Bing Crosby musical “Say One for Me” in 1959, but she considered “Li’l Abner” her big break. She was prolific actor in television and film up through the 1990s, officially retiring in 2010.