Tina Louise (born February 11, 1934) is an American actress best known for playing movie star Ginger Grant in the CBS television situation comedy Gilligan's Island. She began her career on stage during the mid-1950s, before landing her breakthrough role in 1958 drama film God's Little Acre for which she received Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.
Louise had starring roles in a number of Hollywood movies, including The Trap, The Hangman, Day of the Outlaw, and For Those Who Think Young. Louise later returned to film, appearing in The Wrecking Crew, The Happy Ending, and The Stepford Wives (1975).
Tina Blacker was born in New York City. By the time she was four years of age, her parents had divorced.
An only child, she was raised by her mother, Sylvia Horn (née Myers) Blacker (1916–2011), a fashion model. Tina's father, Joseph Blacker, was a candy store owner in Brooklyn and later an accountant. The name "Louise" was allegedly added during her senior year in high school when she mentioned to her drama teacher that she was the only girl in the class without a middle name. He selected the name "Louise" and it stuck. She attended Miami University in Ohio.
At the early age of just two years, Tina got her first role, after being seen in an ad for her father's candy store. She played numerous roles until she decided it was best to focus on school work. By the age of 17, Louise began studying acting, singing and dancing. She studied acting under Sanford Meisner at the prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse in Manhattan. During her early acting years, she was offered modeling jobs, including as a rising starlet, who along with Jayne Mansfield, was a product advocate in the 1958 Frederick's of Hollywood catalog, and appeared on the cover of several pinup magazines such as Adam, Sir! and Modern Man. Her later pictorials for Playboy (May 1958; April 1959) were arranged by Columbia Pictures studio in an effort to further promote the young actress.
Louise with Gene Barry from the television series Burke's Law (1964).
Her acting debut came in 1952 in the Bette Davis musical revue Two's Company,[4] followed by roles in other Broadway productions, such as John Murray Anderson's Almanac, The Fifth Season, and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? She appeared in such early live television dramas as Studio One, Producers' Showcase, and Appointment with Adventure. In 1957, she appeared on Broadway in the hit musical Li'l Abner. Her album, It's Time for Tina, was released that year, with songs such as "Embraceable You" and "I'm in the Mood for Love".
Louise made her Hollywood film debut in 1958 in God's Little Acre. That same year, the National Art Council named her the "World's Most Beautiful Redhead." The next year she starred in Day of the Outlaw, with Robert Ryan. She became an in-demand leading lady for major stars like Robert Taylor and Richard Widmark, often playing somber roles quite unlike the glamorous pinup photographs and Playboy pictorials she had become famous for in the late 1950s. ] In 1962, she guest-starred on the sitcom The Real McCoys, portraying a country girl from West Virginia in an episode titled "Grandpa Pygmalion". Two years later, prior to the development of Gilligan's Island, she appeared with Bob Denver in the beach party film For Those Who Think Young. CLR

Tapestry
Rose
2019

Late Phases
Clarissa
2014

L.A. Heat
(1 episode)
1999

Welcome to Woop Woop
Bella
1998

E! True Hollywood Story
(1 episode)
1996

Johnny Suede
Mrs. Fontaine
1991

Dixie Lanes
Violet
1988

O.C. and Stiggs
Florence Beaugereaux
1987

Married... with Children
Miss Beck · (1 episode)
1987

Blacke's Magic
(1 episode)
1986

Evils of the Night
Cora
1985

Hell Riders
Claire Delaney
1984

Dog Day
Noémie Blue
1984

Notre Dame de la Croisette
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983

Knight Rider
Anne Tyler · (1 episode)
1982

Matt Houston
(1 episode)
1982

Advice to the Lovelorn
Diane Marsh
1981

Simon & Simon
(1 episode)
1981

The Day the Women Got Even
Mary Jo Alfieri
1980

Friendships, Secrets and Lies
Joan Holmes
1979

Dallas
Julie Grey · (5 episodes)
1978

Mean Dog Blues
Donna Lacey
1978

The Love Boat
Tina Louise · (1 episode)
1977

The Love Boat
Betty Bricker · (1 episode)
1977

CHiPs
Edie Marshall · (2 episodes)
1977

CHiPs
Tina Louise (uncredited) · (1 episode)
1977

SST: Death Flight
Mae
1977

Nightmare in Badham County
Greer
1976

Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby
Marjean Dorn
1976

Death Scream
Hilda Murray
1975

The Stepford Wives
Charmaine Wimpiris
1975

Kojak
Audrey Norris · (1 episode)
1973

Police Story
(2 episodes)
1973

Call to Danger
April Tierney
1973

Kung Fu
Carol Mercer · (1 episode)
1972

Cannon
(1 episode)
1971

But I Don't Want to Get Married!
Miss Spencer
1970

The Happy Ending
Helen Bricker
1969

The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
Carmel
1969

Love, American Style
Mrs. Michele Rossi · (1 episode)
1969

Love, American Style
Aubrey · (1 episode)
1969

Love, American Style
Lola · (1 episode)
1969

How to Commit Marriage
Laverne Baker
1969

The Wrecking Crew
Lola Medina
1968

Mannix
Linda Cole · (1 episode)
1967

The Seventh Floor
dottoressa Immer Mehr
1967

Ironside
Candy · (1 episode)
1967

The Jackie Gleason Show
(0 episode)
1966
Salute to Stan Laurel
Self
1965

Gilligan's Island
Ginger Grant · (98 episodes)
1964

Fanfare for a Death Scene
Coola Hana
1964

For Those Who Think Young
Topaz McQueen
1964

Kraft Suspense Theatre
Angie Powell · (1 episode)
1963

Burke's Law
Bonnie Belle Tate · (1 episode)
1963

The New Breed
Stella Knowland · (1 episode)
1961

Armored Command
Alexandra Bastegar
1961

Viva l'Italia!
French Journalist
1961

Route 66
(1 episode)
1960

Checkmate
Joanne Dunn · (1 episode)
1960

The Warrior Empress
Sappho
1960

Siege of Syracuse
Diana / Artemide / Lucrezia
1960

Bonanza
Mary Burns · (1 episode)
1959

Day of the Outlaw
Helen Crane
1959

The Hangman
Selah Jennison
1959

The Trap
Linda Anderson
1959

God's Little Acre
Griselda Walden, Ty Ty's daughter-in-law
1958

The Real McCoys
Tilda Hicks · (1 episode)
1957

Climax!
Maxene Sumner · (1 episode)
1954

The Oscars
Self · (1 episode)
1953

The Bob Hope Show
Self · (1 episode)
1950

Studio One
Dolores · (1 episode)
1948

The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · (1 episode)
1948