# Nancy Kovack
**Nancy Kovack** (full name Nancy Diane Kovack; born March 11, 1935, in [Flint, Michigan](https://www.edgepedia.org/flint-michigan)) is a retired film and television actress whose listed feature-film credits span 1960 to 1969, best remembered for playing Medea in *Jason and the Argonauts* (1963) and for her marriage to conductor [Zubin Mehta](https://www.edgepedia.org/zubin-mehta).[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr99018978.html) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/116009-Nancy-Kovack) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0468222/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and birth | Nancy Diane Kovack, born March 11, 1935, Flint, Michigan[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr99018978.html) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0468222/) |
| Feature film span | 13 listed feature credits from *Strangers When We Meet* (1960) to *Marooned* (1969)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/116009-Nancy-Kovack) |
| Signature role | Medea, the sorceress who guides Jason to the Golden Fleece and returns with the Argonauts in *Jason and the Argonauts* (1963)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/116009-Nancy-Kovack) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nancy-kovack) • [8](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22132-JASON-ANDTHEARGONAUTS?cp=1&pos=2&sid=6ebbfe14-72e0-435b-be65-b89468093a3e&sr=0.10031769) |
| Emmy nomination | Outstanding Single Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role, 1969, for *Mannix* on CBS[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/nancy-kovack) |
| Television | Five appearances on *Bewitched*, three as Darrin Stephens' former girlfriend Sheila[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0468222/) |
| Marriage | Married Zubin Mehta on July 19, 1969, in Methodist and Zoroastrian-Parsi ceremonies[6](https://www.nytimes.com/1969/07/20/archives/nancy-kovack-becomes-bride-of-zubin-mehia.html) |
## Early life and education
Kovack was born in Flint, Michigan, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Kovack.[6](https://www.nytimes.com/1969/07/20/archives/nancy-kovack-becomes-bride-of-zubin-mehia.html) The Library of Congress authority record fixes her identity as Nancy Diane Kovack, born 1935 in Flint, an actor of the 1960s.[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr99018978.html) She attended Flint Junior College and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1955.[6](https://www.nytimes.com/1969/07/20/archives/nancy-kovack-becomes-bride-of-zubin-mehia.html)
According to a summary she provided of her own career, Kovack entered the University of Michigan at age 15, worked as a radio deejay at 16, finished college at 19, and had won eight beauty titles before turning 20.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0468222/)
## Early career in New York television
Her professional acting career began on television in New York, first as one of [Jackie Gleason](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-gleason)'s "Glea Girls" and then on *The Dave Garroway Show*, *Today*, and *Beat the Clock*.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0468222/) A 1978 *New York Times* profile described her as a pioneer anchorwoman on the Dave Garroway Show in New York.[7](https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/07/archives/for-nancy-mehta-wife-of-the-conductor-life-is-a-gilded-cage-she.html) Her Broadway debut came in *The Disenchanted*, and a stage role opened Hollywood doors for her; she signed with Columbia.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0468222/)
## Film career
The AFI Catalog lists her feature credits from 1960 to 1969: *Strangers When We Meet* (1960, as Marica), *Cry for Happy* (1961, Miss Cameron), *The Wild Westerners* (1962, Rose Sharon), *Jason and the Argonauts* (1963, Medea), *Diary of a Madman* (1963, Odette Duclasse), *Sylvia* (1965, Big Shirley), *The Outlaws Is Coming* (1965, [Annie Oakley](https://www.edgepedia.org/annie-oakley)), *The Great Sioux Massacre* (1965, Libbie Custer), *The Silencers* (1966, Barbara), *Tarzan and the Valley of Gold* (1966, Sophia), *Frankie and Johnny* (1966, [Nellie Bly](https://www.edgepedia.org/nellie-bly)), *Enter Laughing* (1967, Miss B), and *Marooned* (1969, Teresa Stone).[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/116009-Nancy-Kovack)
Medea remains her most-cited role: Rotten Tomatoes identifies her as perhaps most recognized as [Medea](https://www.edgepedia.org/medea) in the 1963 stop-motion film Jason and the [Argonauts](https://www.edgepedia.org/argonauts), about the quest for the [Golden Fleece](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-fleece); the AFI synopsis, however, describes Medea as Aeëtes' daughter who guides Jason to the Golden Fleece and returns with the Argonauts, rather than a spurned and vengeful sorceress.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nancy-kovack) • [8](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22132-JASON-ANDTHEARGONAUTS?cp=1&pos=2&sid=6ebbfe14-72e0-435b-be65-b89468093a3e&sr=0.10031769) Fascination with the Middle East prompted her to film two motion pictures in Iran, keeping her in that country for close to three years.[7](https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/07/archives/for-nancy-mehta-wife-of-the-conductor-life-is-a-gilded-cage-she.html)
## Television career
She appeared five times on the situation comedy *Bewitched*, three of those appearances as Darrin Stephens' former girlfriend Sheila.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0468222/) The Television Academy records one Emmy nomination for her, Outstanding Single Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role, 1969, for *Mannix* on CBS.[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/nancy-kovack)
## Marriage to Zubin Mehta
She and Zubin Mehta, musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, were introduced by Denise Minnelli at a dinner party. According to Mrs. Mehta, they "had a small argument, and decided to marry two weeks later," with the wedding taking place six months after they met.[7](https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/07/archives/for-nancy-mehta-wife-of-the-conductor-life-is-a-gilded-cage-she.html)
They married on July 19, 1969, in two ceremonies: a Methodist service at Westwood Community Methodist Church and a Zoroastrian-Parsi ceremony at the Bel Air Hotel performed by Dr. Framroze Ardeshi Body of Bombay, who had married the bridegroom's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mehli Mehta, 34 years earlier.[6](https://www.nytimes.com/1969/07/20/archives/nancy-kovack-becomes-bride-of-zubin-mehia.html) The reception drew about 400 guests, including virtually the entire Los Angeles Philharmonic as well as others prominent in musical and theatrical circles.[6](https://www.nytimes.com/1969/07/20/archives/nancy-kovack-becomes-bride-of-zubin-mehia.html)
## Later life and career after marriage
Her final listed feature role was Teresa Stone in *Marooned* (1969), the year of her marriage.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/116009-Nancy-Kovack) Rotten Tomatoes characterizes her screen career as lasting about a decade and ending after her marriage, when she decided to focus her life on her marriage to the conductor.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nancy-kovack)
## By the numbers
The AFI Catalog lists 13 feature credits from 1960 to 1969, alongside one Emmy nomination and five appearances on *Bewitched*.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/116009-Nancy-Kovack) • [5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/nancy-kovack) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0468222/)
## References
1. [Kovack, Nancy, 1935-, Library of Congress Linked Data Service](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr99018978.html)
2. [Nancy Kovack, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/116009-Nancy-Kovack)
3. [Nancy Kovack, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0468222/)
4. [Nancy Kovack, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nancy-kovack)
5. [Nancy Kovack Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/nancy-kovack)
6. [Nancy Kovack Becomes Bride of Zubin Mehta, The New York Times (July 20, 1969)](https://www.nytimes.com/1969/07/20/archives/nancy-kovack-becomes-bride-of-zubin-mehia.html)
7. [For Nancy Mehta, Wife of the Conductor, Life Is a Gilded Cage, The New York Times (Nov. 7, 1978)](https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/07/archives/for-nancy-mehta-wife-of-the-conductor-life-is-a-gilded-cage-she.html)
8. [AFI|Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22132-JASON-ANDTHEARGONAUTS?cp=1&pos=2&sid=6ebbfe14-72e0-435b-be65-b89468093a3e&sr=0.10031769)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames J to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license