Josie Loveless

**Josephine Margot Rutgers** (born November 8, 1935), known professionally as **Josie Loveless**, is an American actress. Loveless rose to fame with her breakthrough role as high schooler Candy Bearchell in the musical-comedy *That's How It Goes!* (1956), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Loveless went on to be a prominent name in Hollywood during the 1950s, becoming widely known after appearing in films such as *Crazy Eights* (1957), *The Domino Effect* (1959), and *Serendipity* (1959). In the 1960s, Loveless began acting in starring roles, appearing in *Naomi* (1963), *Two Nights by the Fire* (1965), and *Blue* (1966), the latter of which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Loveless's later work includes roles in the films *Lifeless* (1985), *Mi Amiga* (1990), *Devils Don't Kid* (1993), and *Cheers* (1998). She is the mother of U.S. Senator Devin Samuelsen, and has been married to director Christopher Samuelsen since 1964. In 2000, Loveless created the non-profit The Samuelsen-Loveless Foundation with her husband, with which she fundraises for charitable causes. She retired from acting in 2009, in order to prioritize her foundation and family life.

## Early life and education

Loveless was born as Josephine Margot Rutgers on November 8, 1935 in Arlington, Virginia to parents George and Catherine Rutgers. Her father was a former lawyer from Manchester, New Hampshire who later began working as a political operative in Washington, D.C. for Democratic politicians during the Great Depression, while her mother came from a wealthy New England family of socialites from Connecticut. Loveless is of English and Scotch-Irish descent, and was baptized in the Presbyterian faith; she has stated that religion was not an important part of her life growing up, and that she was never a practicing Christian. Loveless grew up as the eldest of three children; her younger siblings include Martha, born  (1938-02-12) February 12, 1938 (age 85), and James, born  (1942-07-16) July 16, 1942 (age 81).

Loveless attended public schooling in Arlington. She began her education in 1941, attending a local public elementary school. She began high school at Washington-Lee High School in 1949, where she was active in the school's theatre department. Loveless had wanted to become an actress ever since she was a young child, and while in high school frequently appeared in leading roles in school productions. She graduated from high school in 1953, and shortly afterwards moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in the film industry.

## Personal life

Loveless began a relationship with director Christopher Samuelsen after meeting on the set of *Naomi* in 1961; Loveless was starring in the film, while Samuelsen was directing it. They later became engaged in 1963, and married the year afterwards. Loveless and Samuelsen have two children together: Devin, born  (1967-09-30) September 30, 1967 (age 56), and Giselle, born  (1970-05-17) May 17, 1970 (age 53). Devin is politician and former lawyer, serving in the United States Senate since 2015 and previously serving as Mayor of Los Angeles, while Giselle is a socialite and former model. Loveless is also a grandmother to her seven grandkids.

Loveless and Samuelsen reside primarily in their nine-bedroom Beverly Hills, California home, valued at $18.4 million. They also own residences in Washington, D.C., New York City, Hawaii, Cape Cod, and Paris. Loveless has described herself as a lifelong member of the Democratic Party, and she has donated to numerous Democratic political campaigns, including her son's.

## Filmography

*Main article: Josie Loveless filmography.*

## Awards and nominations

*Main article: Awards and nominations received by Josie Loveless.*