Irish Mccalla

About Irish Mccalla

Nellie Elizabeth "Irish" McCalla, born on December 25, 1928, in Pawnee City, Nebraska, passed away on February 1, 2002. She was an American actress and artist renowned for her role as the titular character in the 1950s television series Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, where she starred alongside Chris Drake. McCalla also gained recognition as a "Vargas Girl," modeling for the celebrated pin-up artist Alberto Vargas.

Growing up as one of eight children in a family where her father, Lloyd, worked as a butcher, and her mother, Nettie (née Geiger) McCalla, the family frequently relocated. They settled in Des Moines, Iowa, in late 1939 after Lloyd found employment with Condon Bros. meat dealers and resided at 1070 10th Street. By November 1941, they moved to Marshalltown, Iowa, and then to Omaha, Nebraska, in September 1942, before finally returning to Pawnee City, where McCalla completed her high school education. At 17, she joined some siblings in Southern California, taking up jobs as a waitress and in an aircraft factory.

In 1951, she married Patrick McIntyre, an insurance salesman, and the couple had two sons. By 1952, McCalla was already a well-known pin-up model when she featured in the film River Goddesses, portraying a group of youthful, voluptuous women enjoying themselves in Glen Canyon. After divorcing McIntyre in 1957, she wed English actor and scholar Patrick Horgan the following year, but this marriage ended in January 1969.

In 1982, McCalla, residing in Malibu, California, married Chuck Rowland, a national sales manager in the auto-glass industry. They later moved to Prescott, Arizona, where she lived until her death. The couple separated in 1989. As an artist, McCalla created numerous oil paintings and collector plates and sold prints of her artwork. She was an active member of Woman Artists of the American West, with her pieces exhibited at the Los Angeles Museum of Arts and Sciences. McCalla also participated in autograph conventions, making appearances well into the 1990s, including a notable appearance in a faux-leopard Sheena costume. McCalla passed away at age 73 due to a stroke and complications from her fourth brain tumor.