# Sharon Tate
**Sharon Tate** (Sharon Marie Tate, January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress whose short film career in the late 1960s ended when she was murdered, eight and a half months pregnant, by followers of [Charles Manson](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-manson) at her Los Angeles home.[1](https://sharontate.net/bio.html) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-07-25/sharon-tate-manson-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood) Her best-known screen role was Jennifer North in *Valley of the Dolls* (1967), and she was married to the director [Roman Polanski](https://www.edgepedia.org/roman-polanski).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001790/bio/?mode=desktop)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1943, to Colonel Paul and Doris Tate[1](https://sharontate.net/bio.html) |
| Best-known role | Jennifer North in *Valley of the Dolls* (1967), the only commercial success among her credited films[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate) |
| Credited films | Five credited roles between 1966 and 1968, plus a posthumous release in 1970 (*12 + 1*)[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate) |
| Marriage | Met director Roman Polanski in 1967 on the set of *The Fearless Vampire Killers*; they married[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001790/bio/?mode=desktop) |
| Death | August 9, 1969, at 10050 Cielo Drive, Los Angeles, killed with four others by Manson followers[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001790/bio/?mode=desktop) |
| Cultural afterlife | Portrayed by Margot Robbie in Quentin Tarantino's *Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood* (2019)[5](https://time.com/5635298/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-true-story/) |
## Early life and entry into film
Tate was born in 1943, one day before the first wedding anniversary of her parents, Colonel Paul and [Doris Tate](https://www.edgepedia.org/doris-tate).[1](https://sharontate.net/bio.html) Her first screen appearances came as an extra while she was a teenager, in the golden-era epics *Barabbas* (1961) and *Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man* (1962).[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate) In 1961 she met the 20th Century-Fox actor [Richard Beymer](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-beymer), who was on location in Verona filming *Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man*.[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-20-tm-340-story.html)
Under contract in Hollywood while still under 21, she had to be made a ward of the court to sign her film contract, and she was given a small recurring role on the Filmways television production *The Beverly Hillbillies*.[1](https://sharontate.net/bio.html) Her mentor, the Filmways executive Martin Ransohoff, assigned her minor roles in *The Wheeler Dealers* (1963), *The Americanization of Emily* (1964), and *The Sandpiper* (1965).[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-20-tm-340-story.html) To mark a career break, Ransohoff produced a promotional featurette, "All Eyes on Sharon Tate," built around tributes from more experienced co-stars such as [David Niven](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-niven) and [Deborah Kerr](https://www.edgepedia.org/deborah-kerr) and footage of her in the French nightclub scene.[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sharon-tate/)
## Film career
Tate's first credited pictures, *Eye of the Devil* (1966) and *Don't Make Waves* (1967), showed the range of her early roles. In *Eye of the Devil*, a gothic occult tale set in the French Périgord, she played Odile de Caray, a witch conspiring to sacrifice the visiting Marquis du Montfaucon, played by David Niven.[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate) In *Don't Make Waves*, one of the last of the California beach-party films, she played Malibu, a skydiver and surfer opposite [Tony Curtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-curtis); critics including Andrew Sarris singled her out as the film's most striking presence.[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate)
The year 1967 brought her three releases. In Roman Polanski's horror spoof *The Fearless Vampire Killers* she played Sarah Shagal, her first leading role, cast at Ransohoff's insistence.[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate) In *Valley of the Dolls*, a melodrama of barbiturates and reckonings, she played Jennifer North, a suicidal soft-porn actress; the film was a commercial success but a critical disaster, and her role did not win the reviews that crystallize a career.[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-07-25/sharon-tate-manson-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood) The filming proved difficult: director Mark Robson singled out Tate for much of his criticism, and pre-release publicity drew unflattering comparisons between her and her vain character.[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sharon-tate/)
Her later credits included Freya Carlson in the [Dean Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/dean-martin) action film *[The Wrecking Crew](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-wrecking-crew-1968-film)* (1968) and Pat in *12 + 1* (released posthumously in 1970); she also appeared uncredited as a party guest in *Rosemary's Baby* (1968).[8](https://www.sharontate.net/filmography.html) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sharon_tate) Beyond film, her face reached wider audiences through pictorials and tabloid coverage, including photographs by David Bailey for British Vogue and by [Richard Avedon](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-avedon) for the photo-essay "The World's Most Beautiful Women."[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate) She is also credited with inspiring the 1971 Malibu Barbie doll.[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate)
## Marriage to Roman Polanski
Tate met Roman Polanski, already known for his Oscar-nominated debut *Knife in the Water* (1962) and *Repulsion* (1965), on the set of *The Fearless Vampire Killers* in 1967, and they married.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001790/bio/?mode=desktop) • [4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate) With the marriage her life became one of parties, travel, and contact with influential movie people.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001790/bio/?mode=desktop) In July 1969, to Tate's disappointment, Polanski remained in London for story conferences and did not accompany her back to California.[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-20-tm-340-story.html)
## Murder
During the summer of 1969 Tate was renting a house at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles with Polanski, who was fresh from the success of *Rosemary's Baby* (1968).[5](https://time.com/5635298/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-true-story/) On August 9, 1969, Tate, Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring, Steve Parent, and Voytek Frykowski were murdered by three of Charles Manson's followers: Charles "Tex" Watson, [Susan Atkins](https://www.edgepedia.org/susan-atkins), and [Patricia Krenwinkel](https://www.edgepedia.org/patricia-krenwinkel).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001790/bio/?mode=desktop) Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant, was stabbed 16 times.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-07-25/sharon-tate-manson-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood) • [10](https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2019/07/charlie-manson-and-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood/) Polanski was not at the house; when her body was discovered, he was away and the killings shocked even homicide-squad detectives.[11](https://time.com/3984667/sharon-tate-murder-history/)
## Legacy and screen portrayals
Tate's violent death came to define her legacy in a way her filmography never did: the BFI's *Sight and Sound* notes that her substantial acting talents were largely overlooked in her lifetime and then eclipsed altogether by the murder, leaving her five credited roles largely an afterthought.[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate) The Tate-LaBianca murders became a recurring reference point in American culture, from true-crime literature to horror films that evoke the August 1969 killings.[10](https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2019/07/charlie-manson-and-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood/)
Fifty years after her death, Tate became again the object of Hollywood's fascination. [Quentin Tarantino](https://www.edgepedia.org/quentin-tarantino)'s *Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood* (2019) presents an alternate history in which Tate, played by [Margot Robbie](https://www.edgepedia.org/margot-robbie), is not murdered; the film depicts much of her life accurately, including her residence on Cielo Drive and a visit to a screening of *The Wrecking Crew*, though the neighbor Rick Dalton played by [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://www.edgepedia.org/leonardo-dicaprio) is fictitious.[5](https://time.com/5635298/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-true-story/) • [12](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.2831-865X.2024.tb00809.x) Other portrayals of Tate and the events of 1969 include Daniel Farrands's *The Haunting of Sharon Tate*, Mary Harron's *Charlie Says*, and a biopic starring Kate Bosworth.[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate)
## References
1. [Sharon Tate Biography, The Official Sharon Tate Fansite](https://sharontate.net/bio.html)
2. [How Sharon Tate transfixed Hollywood, 50 years before 'Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-07-25/sharon-tate-manson-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood)
3. [Sharon Tate - Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001790/bio/?mode=desktop)
4. [The beautiful and the damned: the cinematic afterlife of Sharon Tate, Sight and Sound (BFI)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beautiful-damned-cinematic-afterlife-sharon-tate)
5. [The True Story Behind 'Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood', TIME](https://time.com/5635298/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-true-story/)
6. [One Fallen Angel: 'Sharon Tate was a portrait of the Hollywood goddess', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-20-tm-340-story.html)
7. [Sharon Tate - Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sharon-tate/)
8. [Sharon Tate Filmography, The Official Sharon Tate Fansite](https://www.sharontate.net/filmography.html)
9. [Sharon Tate Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sharon_tate)
10. [Charles Manson and "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood", Timeless (Library of Congress blogs)](https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2019/07/charlie-manson-and-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood/)
11. [Read TIME's Report of the Grisly Sharon Tate Murder, TIME](https://time.com/3984667/sharon-tate-murder-history/)
12. [Rewriting Sharon Tate's History in Once Upon A Time in ... Hollywood, Popular Culture Review](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.2831-865X.2024.tb00809.x)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Actors and actresses by country or nationality › American actors and actresses › Surnames P to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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