At age 16, Inger Stevens broke into show business in a Kansas City burlesque show. She moved to New York at age 18, working in the garment center and as a chorus girl while studying theater at the Actors Studio and making the rounds of Broadway agents. She appeared in several TV commercials, leading to roles in TV dramas. In 1956 she debuted on Broadway, then made her first film in 1957. She went on to appear in a dozen or so films during the next decade-plus. Stevens achieved some popularity as the star of the '60s TV series "The Farmer's Daughter." After her death at age 36, it was later revealed that she had been secretly married since 1961 to black musician Isaac (Ike) Jones.