Chili Williams

	This article is part of
	"The Pin-up Girl History Project"; Click here for Pin-up girl page
	"The YANK Magazine History Project"; Click here for Category:YANK magazine pinups
	Click here for Special History Projects information

Yank Magazine
18 February 1944

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Elizabeth Ann

Chili Williams was born Marian Sorenson on December 18, 1921 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When she was a teenager she moved to New York City to become a model. Agent Harry Conover signed her and decided to change her name. In 1943 a photo of Chili wearing a polka-dot bikini appeared in Life magazine. Over the next few months she received more than 350,000 fan letters. She quickly became one of the soldiers favorite pin-up girls and was nicknamed "The Polk-Dot Girl". Chili landed a movie contract and got small parts in movies like Having Wonderful Crime and Copacabana. Meanwhile her romances with Rory Calhoun and Jack Carson kept her in the gossip columns. She found herself at the center of a scandal when she worked with photographer Earl Moran. His wife claimed she walked in on Earl and a nude Chili in his studio.

Although she appeared in more than a dozen films Chili never became a major star. In 1950 she made headlines again when she was arrested for breaking into her ex-boyfriend's apartment. Chili's first marriage, to Hugh Bayne, lasted only a year. In 1954 she married John Uhlman and retired from acting. The couple moved to Las Vegas where they opened a successful dress shop. Chili and John had a son and a daughter. They remained together until Chili passed away on October 17, 2003 at the age of 81.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Classic Hollywood Beauties

Chili Williams was a popular pin-up known as "The Polka-Dot Girl". After a photo of her wearing a polka-dotted bikini appeared in "Life magazine" she received more than 100,000 fan letters. She landed a movie contract and had bit parts in movies like "Having Wonderful Crime" and "Wonder Man". Chili was involved in several scandals including being caught breaking into an ex-boyfriend's apartment. She eventually quit acting and stayed out of the spotlight until her death in 2003