May Britt, the Swedish actor whose interracial marriage to Sammy Davis Jr in 1960 sparked death threats and controversy amid US anti-miscegenation laws, has died aged 91. Her son Mark Davis confirmed that she passed away on 11 December from natural causes at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana medical centre in Los Angeles.
Born Maj-Britt Wilkens in Sweden in 1934, Britt was discovered by Italian filmmakers while working as a photographer’s assistant. She starred in a string of Italian films before landing a role in the 1956 adaptation of War and Peace, opposite Audrey Hepburn. A contract with 20th Century Fox followed, leading to roles alongside Marlon Brando in The Young Lions and Robert Mitchum in The Hunters.
She met Sammy Davis Jr in 1959 and married him in November 1960, converting to Judaism beforehand. At the time, interracial marriage was illegal in much of the US, and the couple endured harassment, hate mail, and bomb threats. Davis postponed the wedding until after the 1960 presidential election to avoid harming John F. Kennedy’s campaign; they were later disinvited from the inauguration gala.
After the marriage, 20th Century Fox declined to renew Britt’s contract, effectively ending her Hollywood career. She later said she did not regret quitting acting for her family. The couple had one biological daughter, Tracey, and two adopted sons, Mark and Jeff. They separated in 1967 and divorced in 1968 amid rumours of an affair.
Britt later returned to acting in small television roles and the 1976 horror film Haunts, with her final credit in 1988. She married entertainment executive Lennart Ringquist in 1993; he died in 2017. She is survived by her sons, sister Margot, and six grandchildren. Her daughter Tracey died in November 2020.
