Born in Reno, Nevada in 1938, Dawn Wells will be best known for her role as Kansas farm girl, Mary Ann, in the popular TV show Gilligan's Island.

She actually beat out actress Raquel Welch for the role!

Wells originally wanted to become a ballerina and was well on her way to accomplishing this goal before her bad knees crushed her dream.  She did go on to win the Miss Nevada beauty pageant and made it to the 1960 Miss America pageant.

In school, Wells majored in drama at the University of Washington and shortly after her graduation she moved to Hollywood.  She got small parts in several popular TV shows before she landed her role as Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island.

After Gilligan's Island ended, Wells found work in a few movies and theatre.  She has also done over 100 TV series and talk show appearances.

"I've done everything from Shakespeare to Noel Coward to Tennessee Williams to Neil Simon," Wells said.

She also did the voices for Mary Ann and Ginger for the animated series, Gilligan's Planet, in 1982.

Wells has here own clothing line, the Wishing Wells Collection, specially designed for those who have difficulty dressing.  This keeps here busy along with her summer "film actors boot camp" for aspiring actors that she runs in Wyoming.

Her latest TV gigs have been in a popular commercial for Western Union, capitalizing on her Mary Ann character.