Personal Life
While in Hollywood, Varsi was known for being unglamorous, never wearing any make-up or fancy clothes. Furthermore, she avoided the Hollywood parties, and was quoted saying: "I'd rather meet Aldous Huxley than Clark Gable." Other actors at Fox recalled her as "a frightened, birdlike girl who was bewildered by her sudden success" and as "disillusioned by the way certain studio officials treated her". Russ Tamblyn, her co-star in Peyton Place, stated they dated following the film's release.
From November 26, 1956 to August 29, 1958, Varsi was married to James Dickson, whom she made her manager while working as an actress. She was married to Michael Hausman on May 21, 1961; they had a daughter, Willo.
In 1968, while working on the set of Wild in the Streets, Varsi suffered extreme trauma to her cervical spine, which led to years of misdiagnosed pain. In 1977, she contracted Lyme disease and lived for five years in undiagnosed and unremitting meningitis which brought her close to death several times. The Lyme disease, combined with her neck injury, which had resulted from numerous surgeries, was not diagnosed until 1989.
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