Actress. Born Harriet Shapiro in Boston, Massachusetts, Cabot was raised in eight different foster homes. She attended high school in Manhattan, where she took an interest in dramatics and joined the school dramatic club. She illustrated children’s books during the day and sang at Manhattan’s Village Barn at night. She made her film debut as an extra in Fox’s Kiss of Death (1947). A Hollywood talent scout took her to California where she signed an exclusive contract with Columbia where she played a series of roles mainly in “B” westerns. She asked to be released from the contract when she became frustrated with the lack of progress her career was making. After a brief stint on Broadway, she was once more lured to Hollywood by producer Roger Corman, and made the films for which she is best remembered including 1959’s The Wasp Woman. Her personal life included a well publicised relationship with King Hussein of Jordan in 1959, and two marriages both of which ended in divorce. On December 10, 1986, Cabot’s son 22 year old son Timothy, bludgeoned her to death in her home with a weight-lifting bar in the bedroom of her Encino home. Timothy Scott Roman was charged with involuntary manslaughter and received a three-year suspended sentence and was placed on probation for the crime. (bio by: Iola)