Jacqueleen Loughery, a vibrant and captivating redhead, gained widespread recognition as the inaugural winner of the Miss USA beauty pageant in 1952, held at Long Beach, California. Just two years prior, this Brooklyn-born beauty, daughter of Joseph Clark Loughery and Ellen (Avery) Loughery, had already been crowned Miss New York State. Despite initially showing little enthusiasm to pursue further titles, she was persuaded by 'Uncle Miltie' (Milton Berle) to participate in the Miss Universe event, ultimately finishing in ninth place. This achievement led to her being hired by the Ward Kent modeling agency and securing a contract with Universal-International, with the ambitious goal of becoming a dramatic actress.
For the initial five years of her acting career, Loughery's ambitions remained unrealized, confined to minor roles, walk-ons, and cameos. Her fortunes improved slightly when she landed the female lead in the Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis comedy Pardners (1956). She then secured a leading regular television role in a western series as Letty, the niece of Judge Roy Bean (1955). Her next film, The D.I. (1957),was a wartime drama about a tough drill instructor, starring Jack Webb and featuring Loughery as his romantic interest.
During the filming of The D.I., Loughery developed a romantic connection with Webb, and the couple married in June 1958 in Studio City, after she had divorced her previous husband, the actor and singer Guy Mitchell, citing mental cruelty and abusiveness. Unfortunately, her second marriage to Webb also proved tumultuous, ending in 1964 due to his intense dedication to his work, a pattern observed in his previous two marriages.
Following her divorce from Webb, Loughery's career began to stagnate, and she was dropped by Universal. She briefly found support from Howard Hughes, who signed her to RKO, but no film opportunities materialized. As a freelancer, she secured work in a few B-grade films and television shows, including five episodes of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950). The majority of her remaining screen appearances consisted of sporadic TV guest roles in prime-time shows such as Bat Masterson (1958),Burke's Law (1963),and Perry Mason (1957).
By 1969, Loughery, now almost forty, had grown disillusioned with the lack of worthy roles and ultimately retired from acting, stating, "you don't quit acting, acting quits you." That year, she married Jack William Schwietzer, a union that would endure for four decades until his death in 2009.
