A teenage swim star whose Olympic aspirations were thwarted by World War II, Williams was famous for making glitzy aquatic-themed movies featuring swimming and escapism for war-weary audiences.
For a decade, she packed movie houses with her trademark mixture of athletic grace, apple-pie sincerity and glamorous swimwear that satisfied filmgoers coping with World War II rationing and a post-war economic crunch.
Her movies grossed nearly US$90 million. For Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) Williams wore no less than 28 bathing suits – the show-stopper being a gold mesh unitard that covered her from her neck to fingers and toes.