Evelyn Ankers

Evelyn Ankers was an actress born in Valparaiso, Chile on August 17th, 1918. She has been featured in several genre films produced by Universal Pictures, but is most widely remembered as one of the genre's first "scream queens" when she played the role of Gwen Conliffe opposite Lon Chaney, Jr. in the 1941 George Waggner film, The Wolf Man. Filming of the Wolf Man was not easy for Ankers, and she did not have the most ideal working relationship with Chaney. According to film historian Tom Weaver, the two had "no use for one another". Ankers also had trouble on the set when she passed out from the odors given off by the fog machine during the film's climax.

Despite whatever problems Ankers may have had with Chaney, the two continued to work with one another. Evelyn appeared in another Universal picture, The Ghost of Frankenstein, which also starred Chaney. This time, Ankers played the role of Elsa Frankenstein, granddaughter of the infamous Henry Frankenstein. The role of Elsa Frankenstein was later played by Ilona Massey in the 1943 follow-up film, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.

Ankers made over fifty films between 1936 and 1950, then retired from movies to be a housewife. She occasionally played television roles and returned ten years later for her final film, No Greater Love. She starred opposite her husband Richard Denning.

Evelyn Ankers died of ovarian cancer at the age of 67 on 29 August 1985 in Maui, Hawaii.