When you were a student at Hollywood High School, you were, according to sources like the official Hollywood Walk of Fame website, classmates with Nancy Sinatra. Is this information correct?
Oh no, it's not true. I don't know how these things end up on the internet. Nancy is two years older than I am. I did go to school with Tuesday Weld and Linda Evans, and a couple of other people who went into the film industry, some on the crew side and others in acting, but who didn't have long careers. So no, I wasn't with Nancy, although I know her; her sister Tina is more of a friend to me.
What were those days at Hollywood High School like?
I have to explain that Hollywood, in my youth, was a very small town where everyone knew each other; it was like a private club. I met people who worked at the studios or in any part of the entertainment industry. For example, I was at school with some people from my generation who later had long careers, as I mentioned before, but I also took lessons at a ballet company since I was little. There were two other girls, a little older than me, but we were in the same class. They were Natalie Wood and Jill St. John. In today's world, with the large population we have, it's impossible for all of us to know each other; but back then, we coincided, and we even had Robert Wagner in common, because they were both married to him in real life, and I was his wife on television.
Talking about your career now, your first major roles were in film. Do you consider McLintock! to be the movie, or one of the movies, that helped propel you to stardom?
Yes, of course, because working with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara was an incredible opportunity. When I entered the world of cinema, it was during the final days of the studio era, which had been the foundation of our craft. And in the time when I started, although it was the final days of that system, many of the big names, the most famous stars, were still around, and they had left a lasting mark of quality on the productions of the past era. There are many books written about that period because it was great and impossible to duplicate.
How do you remember that experience, so early in your career, of working with an icon like John Wayne, which I imagine must have made you very nervous?
Well, yes, it was nerve-wracking, but at the same time, they were very generous. Those stars were always very, very generous. When we did the rehearsals, they would tell me little things I could improve and give me advice. Nowadays, it's completely different.
Do you feel that today artists don't help each other as much?
No, I don't think so. Each one is working for themselves, more than for others, to help the rest.
How would you describe your time working alongside another legend like Tallulah Bankhead in Die! Die! My Darling! in 1965?
Well, interesting. The most important part of her career wasn't her movies, but her work in theater. She had her major successes in theater and had an incredible renown because she had a unique way of speaking and a sense of humor that was both distinctive and shocking. That's why she also had a somewhat scandalous reputation. And when I had the pleasure of working with her, it was in the final years of her life, but my mom knew a lot about her career, and she filled me with jokes and stories about Tallulah, which were as famous as she was. I was very fortunate to work with someone of her stature, although, I must say, she was also quite nervous about working with me. But, after a few days and weeks, we found an understanding that was divine, but also a little bit strange.
Why would you say it was a little bit strange?
Because it was a bond with a woman who had a very long, very scandalous history, and I was only 25 years old at that time.
Shifting from cinema to television, which is probably where you had your most prominent roles, one of your first appearances was in an episode of Bonanza, which was a series that had an enormous international impact, including in Argentina. How do you remember preparing to play Calamity Jane?
I was around 16 or 17 years old at the time. I studied a lot about her gaze, her most famous sayings, but I always had restrictions from the script and the structure of the show, the series. It was a series with a lot of history and many years of broadcasting. In the end, there were limits to the interpretation I could bring to the character.
In the mid-60s, your role as April Dancer in the series The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. made history because it was the first time a woman starred in a one-hour television series in the United States...
At that time, no one talked about it. It wasn't a topic of conversation at all. Many years later, I received a phone call from a company that was preparing a television presentation honoring the pioneers of the medium. They told me, "You're a pioneer of television." And I said, "No, I don't think so." And then they told me I was because The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. was the first time a woman had the lead role in a television series.
Looking back, seeing what that milestone in the history of television meant, how does that achievement make you feel?
Well, I'm very happy, but it doesn't really change my life. Every day that passes, I move forward with complete normality; nothing has changed.
Between 1979 and 1984, you starred in Hart to Hart alongside Robert Wagner, a role that earned you nominations for two Emmys and five Golden Globes. Since the show is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, what are your fondest or warmest memories of working on that series?
We don't have enough time to talk about it, but just imagine. It was a great experience spending so much time with one person, working 14 hours a day for five years, making about 26 episodes each year. A few years after the series ended, we returned to make eight TV movies, and in the end, it was the best way to say goodbye to those characters. It was wonderful. Most careers don't have something so special. Special, particularly because at the time we made the series, there was no streaming, there weren't that many TV channels. In France, for example, it aired on Sunday nights. So, after the whole family had had a big dinner, they would relax around the TV.
The consumption of television content was completely different...
There wasn't much room to change channels, and there weren't as many options. That's why it was such a great experience for us to enter the lives of the audience in such an intimate way. We were part of the families. It's exceptional; today it almost doesn't exist because there are so many things you can watch, so much variety. You get confused trying to decide which show to watch tonight.
What role did the famous novelist Sidney Sheldon play as the creator of the series?
Sidney Sheldon, a good writer, came up with an idea for this couple, Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, but in reality, the series was developed by Tom Mankiewicz, who was the son of the great director and writer Joseph Mankiewicz. He had a very famous father and a very famous uncle, who wrote the script for Citizen Kane. The Mankiewicz family was very famous in theater and film, and Tom was from my generation. He adjusted Sidney Sheldon's idea to the style of a series of films from the 1930s and 40s called The Thin Man. There were about six movies with the same theme: a married couple with their dog solving crimes. But, in conclusion, it was Tom Mankiewicz who created the iconic characters of Jonathan and Jennifer.
Aside from Lindsay Wagner and Suzanne Pleshette also being considered for the role of Jennifer Hart, is it true that the producers of the series initially wanted Natalie Wood for the lead role?
It was an idea because Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood had a contract with the producers and executives of Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg's company. So yes, for a moment, they were considering having Natalie and RJ together, but only for a moment.
On the IMDb page, it states that, supposedly, producer Aaron Spelling thought your salary request was too high. Is this rumor true?
No, no. I've never heard that. IMDb is not always one hundred percent accurate or correct. But no, it's not true.
In the 90s, they brought back the formula of the series in eight television movies, as you previously mentioned. In one of them, Hart to Hart: Secrets of the Hart, the recently reelected President of the United States, Donald Trump, made a cameo. Given his current political career, how do you feel about having shared the screen with him?
Donald Trump was not a friend of mine. At that time, he was gaining a lot of publicity, and since we were filming in New York, there was an opportunity for him to make a cameo. He got out of a limousine saying, "Good morning," or something like that to Jonathan and Jennifer, and we got into that car. But that doesn't mean we were friends or acquaintances.
Were you surprised that his path later led to a political career?
He was very ambitious, in business and in everything. It wasn't a surprise that he sought another path to gain fame and power.
I think you were always considered an "it girl" and, as such, many men were interested in you. For example, there is a picture of you with Eddie Fisher leaving the La Scala restaurant in Hollywood in 1964, just after his divorce from Elizabeth Taylor. What was the real nature of that relationship?
My private life was private, and there weren't as many famous lovers like the ones you can see on the internet today. No, I didn't consider myself an "it girl".
Before talking about the foundation that bears his name, I wanted to ask you about a romantic relationship you have openly discussed, which was with the renowned actor William Holden, a relationship that lasted almost a decade. Is it true that you met at a New Year's Eve party hosted by the writer Dominick Dunne?
We met three times before I was older and more sophisticated. But yes, the first time was like this: it was a party with a lot of very, very famous people, some very well-known faces. And it was very funny to me because, at one point, he saw me — since he was next to me — and said, "Good evening, Bill Holden." I was stunned, I couldn't speak. I was very impressed by that handsome man.
When did you decide to make the relationship official?
It became official a few years later. When we started our relationship, there was a significant age difference between us. But we were working in similar contexts: I, during the final years of the studio system, and he, in the studio system. It was the same experience, because he had his contract with Paramount when he was 19, and I signed a contract with Columbia at 16. No one can know what it feels like without having lived through all of that. That's why we had common experiences, common curiosities, common interests, and it was as if we were spiritually connected. It was a very effective relationship during the last ten years of his life.
What reflection do you have today regarding that relationship, considering it wasn't always easy due to the problems he had with alcohol?
Well, you know that alcoholism is an addiction, a disorder. He struggled with that throughout his life, but for seven years out of the ten we were together, he was completely alcohol-free. However, since it is an addiction, when he had a drink, the alcoholism would return. He started and stopped many times. And the last time, he lost the battle.
What was it like to receive the news of that loss at the early age of 63?
It was a very difficult time because we were working on Hart to Hart. Bill died in an accident, and two weeks later, Natalie Wood also passed away. Only two weeks between the deaths of the two. During the time Robert Wagner and I were working together, it was very difficult. And I think that mutual experience, that shared tragedy, was a support for both of us. We had to continue. I created the foundation to fulfill Bill's dream of building an education center, but also to create something that would be a living memory of him, because education lives on and is something that is always changing, adapting to human conditions.
In 1982, a year after the death of William Holden, you founded The William Holden Wildlife Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to environmental protection, as well as the conservation of flora and fauna. Where did this idea come from?
The foundation was created in his memory and after all the years we spent together in Kenya. I think that there he did the best work of his career, rather than all the things he had done on screen. The most important work of his life was the protection of the jungle and wild animals in East Africa. He created a ranch for animal preservation, which was the first of its kind in all of Africa, in 1959, when no one spoke of the word "conservation" or the word "extinction." He had a very advanced vision on this matter.
You were just talking about the education center you created in his honor, located in Nanyuki, Kenya...
For all the years after he created that ranch, he always wanted to establish an education center for the people of Kenya, for the local people, so they could learn about all the topics related to the environment. Without education, people don't know why cutting down a tree is harmful, nor the reason why we need those trees. Education is the most important thing to preserve and advocate for the condition of our planet. And it is a task for each one of us, as there are many things we can do individually.
How does this foundation operate?
We received our charitable organization status in 1982, and today there are 11,000 students who come each year free of charge —they don't have to pay anything— to study biodiversity, the balance between nature and human experience, as well as the importance of conservation and preservation of the jungle and animals in all their forms.
What are some of the main projects you have today?
We have many projects. It's not the right time to explain each one of them, because it's a deep topic, but we have a website, which is www.whwf.org, and there you can see everything we are doing. Most people come to study, looking for ideas to fight the climate crisis, agricultural conditions, and see how the suffering that exists in many places in East Africa can be addressed. I would like to recommend to your audience that they check out all the information and explanations about our foundation in the link provided. I'm very glad to share this with you.
Recently, you were presented with the Agents of Change Award by the United Nations, Class of 2024. What does this recognition mean to you after so many years of fighting for a world with sustainable development?
It's important because I am one of the 25 people being recognized by this book announced by the United Nations. There are so many organizations getting the work done, and no one knows about our work because we are so busy doing things, whether in Kenya or any other location, and it's difficult for us to speak to the public on a large scale. I feel very honored to be among all those people. Thanks to this book that was published, all of us can spread our message.
The book you're referring to, which tells the stories of 25 visionaries, is called Vision for the Future: Capturing Inspiring Stories from Leaders and Changemakers. What can readers expect from its content?
Well, the reason this book was created is to attract people so that, by reading about the work of others, it can inspire them to start their own project through their own efforts or to participate in any of the projects presented in the text.
After talking about your career as an actress and your work as an activist, what do you feel weighs more when you look back?
Activism is a part of my life. I have always been an activist in anything where I thought my help was needed. Animals, above all, have always been a concern for me. Just as William Holden, before me, considered his work in Kenya more important than his career on screen, I also share that same thought.
Can we expect to see you on our screens or on stage soon?
Not for now, because I have a production company, and we have several projects we're hoping to make, but first, we need to find the funding for them.
Is there any project for the near future, whether personal or professional?
Well, actors are never really retired; we're always waiting for the next role that interests us, and who knows if it's a theater role or a film role. But, outside of work, it's good to have a healthy life, to have a happy life, to have a life in which you're doing something for the benefit of other people, instead of doing everything just for yourself. That's the way of living I prefer and hope to have until the last day of my life.