Tina Louise Early, and her private life

Tina Louise (nee Blacker, February 11, 1934) was an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Ginger Grant, a movie star who appeared on CBS's situation comedy Gilligan's Island. She began her career on stage in the mid-1950s before landing her breakout role in the drama film God's Small Acre, for which she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. Louise was a part of The Trap and Day of the Outlaw. She also appeared in The Wrecking Crew, The Happy Ending and The Stepford Wives (1975). After the passing of Dawn Wells in 2020, Louise became the last surviving original cast participant in the Gilligan's Island TV series. Louise was born Tina Blacker to a New York City Jewish family. The couple divorced when she was just four years old. Her mother Sylvia Horn (nee Myers), who was a model and mother to her sole child. Tina's father was Joseph Blacker, a Brooklyn candy shop owner who later became an accountant was Tina. The name Louise was apparently added in her senior year at high school when she made a comment to her drama teacher that she was the sole girl in the class who didn't have an initial middle name. He suggested the name. After high school, she enrolled at Miami University in Ohio. Louise lives in New York City. She is an active member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a lifetime participant in the Actors Studio. Louise has been an active advocate for improving child literacy. She donated a part of the profits from her 2007 book, When I Grow Up to literacy programs. She also said in a 2013 interview she was working in local public schools since 1996. She's written three books including Sunday A Memoir (1997) and When I Grow Up (2007).