I took a job at the pool in order to earn the five cents a day it cost to swim. I counted wet towels. As a bonus, I was allowed to swim during lunchtime.

Everything about my teenage life was almost ideal.

I was the only swimmer in movies. Tarzan was long gone, and he couldn't have done them anyway; he could never have gotten into my bathing suit

I think it's so funny when people think they can't control a movie star. They can. We're just women, you know

Traveling to swimming meets took me beyond my small-town existence, gave me a hint of the exciting world outside of my own home.

I took my daily swim at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool despite the presence of onlookers

The newspapers loved pinup pictures of pretty young swimmers, and as a national champion, I got more than my share of space in the sports pages.