Every Actor Who Has Played Gidget Over the Years

Frederick Kohner penned a novel about his young daughter, who was emersed in the growing surfing community as a teen in the 1950s. Her summer experiences of hers inspired the book. Kohner likely never imagined that his book would spawn a cultural phenomenon. It did just that. The book eventually spawned a franchise of films and television projects that brought viewers on Francie ‘Gidget’ Lawrence’s summer adventures of her. Over the years, several actors have taken on the role of Gidget. Do you remember them all?

Sandra Dee was the first actor to portray the famed character

Sandra Dee was the first actor to take on the role of Gidget. She appeared in the first film adaptation of the bestselling book. By the time Dee landed the role in gidget, she was a veteran in the entertainment industry. According to The Bad and the Beautiful: Hollywood in the Fifties, Dee earned the equivalent of nearly $1 million as a child model in the early 1950s. Her modeling de ella was more lucrative than her acting career de ella became, according to the book.