- published: 24 Jul 2014
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Arlene Carol Dahl (born August 11, 1925) is an American actress and former MGM contract star, who achieved notability during the 1950s. She is the mother of actor Lorenzo Lamas.
Dahl was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1925, the daughter of Idelle (née Swan) and Rudolph S. Dahl, a Ford motor dealer and executive. She is of Norwegian descent. After graduating from Washburn High School, she held various jobs, including performing in a local drama group and briefly working as a model for department stores. Dahl's mother was involved in the theatre. As a child she took elocution and dancing lessons and acted in local amateur theatre. She was active in theatrical events at Margaret Fuller Elementary School, Ramsey Junior High School and Washburn Senior High School. Dahl briefly attended the University of Minnesota.
It is an oft repeated myth that Dahl was voted the Rheingold Beer Girl of 1946. (The 1946 Rheingold Girl was Rita Daigle) Other actresses have accumulated the same myth including Tippi Hedren, Hope Lange and Grace Kelly. Dahl began her acting career in 1947. She reached the peak of her popularity and success in the 1950s. Some of her films include: Reign of Terror (1949), Three Little Words (1950), Woman's World (1954), Slightly Scarlet (1956), and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959).