Connie Strickland, a vibrant and stunning blonde actress, often played secondary roles in a small yet captivating array of 1970s exploitation films. Born in California, she began her career as a child model, appearing in national advertisements for Breck at the tender age of nine.
Strickland's academic pursuits took her to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),where she studied architecture. However, she eventually abandoned her studies to pursue a highly successful modeling career. During this time, she worked as a Playboy bunny and rose to the top of the modeling world in Atlanta, Georgia.
Strickland made her film debut in the comedy The Secretary (1972),playing the role of unhappy young wife Valerie Holloway. She went on to appear in a string of exploitation films, including The Roommates (1973),where she portrayed ill-fated water-skier Alice, and Bummer (1973),in which she played flighty rich groupie Barbara.
In 1974, Strickland appeared in The Centerfold Girls, a trashy yet captivating film in which she played saucy hostess Patsy. She also starred in Act of Vengeance (1974),a supremely sleazy film in which she played rape victim Teresa. Additionally, she appeared in Black Samson (1974),a funky blaxploitation film in which she played mean mobster William Smith's sweet girlfriend Tina.
Strickland's modeling career continued to flourish, and she was featured in a photo spread on houseboats in the Caribbean in an issue of "Playboy" magazine. Eventually, she retired from acting in the mid 1970s and transitioned behind the scenes, working as a casting coordinator for Hollywood Harry (1985) and a production assistant on Extreme Prejudice (1987).
