Monkey Business

You know her best as the screaming blonde in King Kong's clutches - but perhaps little else comes to mind about silver-screen star Fay Wray. Although she appeared alongside such movie giants as Gary Cooper, Leslie Nielsen, Walter Brennan and Lillian Gish in 70-plus films from 1925 to 1958, playing the animatronic ape's love interest proved her most memorable role. Raised in a Mormon family, the brown-haired actress (she wore a wig in King Kong) got her big break in 1926, when the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers chose her as one of its Baby Stars, leading to a contract with Paramount Pictures. Ironically, the celebrated screamer originally starred in silent films. Wray died in August 2004 at age 96 - just a few years shy of her 100th birthday. In honor of that Sept. 15 milestone, we monkeyed around with Wray's family tree.