Actress Donna Douglas Dies At 81

Donna Douglas, known to you as Elly May Clampett, has died at the age of 81.

Born in September 1933, Douglas was married at age 16, had a child and later divorced, all before she moved to New York and earned a role in an acclaimed episode of the “Twilight Zone” in 1959, according to the Internet Movie Database. After several more television roles, she nabbed the role of Elly May Clampett, the only daughter of Jed Clampett, in “The Beverly Hillbillies” when it first appeared on TV in 1962. She appeared in all 274 episodes of the show, which ended in 1971. Douglas revisited her character for the show’s reunion TV movie in 1981. She co-starred with Elvis Presley in the 1966 flick “Frankie and Johnny.”

Four years ago Douglas won a lawsuit against Mattel for issuing a Barbie in her Beverly Hillbillies likeness without her permission.

RELATED: Max Baer, who played Jethro Bodine, is the sole surviving cast member of The Beverly Hillbillies. Buddy "Jed Clampett" Ebsen died in 2005 at the age 95. Irene "Granny" Ryan died of a stroke at the age of 70 in 1973 shortly after receiving a Tony nomination for her performance in the Bob Fosse-directed Pippin. Nancy "Miss Hathaway" Kulp died of cancer at the age of 69 in 1991, two years after coming out as a lesbian. Kulp was a 1984 Democratic nominee for the US House, but lost after Ebsen endorsed her GOP opponent, saying that Kulp was "too liberal." Raymond "Milburn Drysdale" Bailey died of a heart attack in 1980 at the age of 75 after suffering symptoms of Alzheimer's since the final seasons of the show.