Jennifer Holt (born Elizabeth Marshall Holt; November 10, 1920 – September 21, 1997) was an American actress.

Early years

She was born in Hollywood, California, to actor Jack Holt and his wife, Margaret Woods. She was the sister of Western actor Tim Holt. Her education included schooling at convents in Belgium, Santiago College in Chile, and The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California.

Film

Holt made her film debut using the stage name Jacqueline Holt in a 1941 Western starring Hopalong Cassidy. A 1942 newspaper article reported, "Jennifer Holt ... has been signed to a long term contract with Universal." Her film singing debut came in Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground in 1943. She sang Cielito Lindo while portraying an entertainer. She went on to make 47 films during the 1940s. All but eight of her roles were in Western films in which she appeared opposite cowboy stars such as Lash LaRue, Tex Ritter and Johnny Mack Brown. Although the popularity of Western films had faded by the mid-1950s, during the 1970s Western film festivals became popular with fans of the genre and she occasionally participated as a guest.

Television

After making her final film in 1949, in 1950 Holt co-hosted a television show called Panhandle Pete and Jennifer which ran for one season. During the remainder of the 1950s she made occasional guest appearances on television Western series such as The Gabby Hayes Show and Tales of Wells Fargo starring Dale Robertson.

Recognition

In 1984, she received the Golden Boot Award for her contributions to Western cinema.

Personal life

Holt was married numerous times, living for a while in Mexico. She had no children. The marriages that can be confirmed were:

Death

Holt was living in Dorset, England in the United Kingdom with her husband, Aylmer Hughes Chamberlain, at the time of her death from cancer at age 76 in 1997.

Partial filmography