Hendrix's father was a logging foreman, and she was born in Jacksonville, Florida. She was performing in a school play in Jacksonville when she was seen by a talent agent who took her to Warner Bros. Her parents moved with her to California, buying a ranch there. She graduated from University High School.
She made her first film, Confidential Agent, in 1945 at the age of 16, and for the first few years of her career was consistently cast in "B" pictures. By the late 1940s, she was being included in more prestigious films, such as Ride the Pink Horse (1947) and Miss Tatlock's Millions (1948). She starred with Tyrone Power in Prince of Foxes (1949).
In 1946, Audie Murphy saw Hendrix on the cover of Coronet magazine and arranged to meet her. They were married on February 8, 1949, and made the film Sierra (1950) together, but the marriage was short-lived; they divorced on April 14, 1950. Hendrix later said that Murphy wanted her to give up her career; but more significantly, he was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder from his service in World War II, and during "flashback" episodes would turn on her, once holding her at gunpoint. In her later years, Hendrix spoke sympathetically of Murphy's condition.[citation needed]

Return to Wanda Hendrix Autograph Profile