Pettet studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, as well as at the Lincoln Center, and got her start on the Broadway in such plays as Take Her, She's Mine, The Chinese Prime Minister, and Poor Richard, with Alan Bates and Gene Hackman, before she was discovered by director Sidney Lumet for his film adaptation in 1966 of Mary McCarthy's novel The Group. The success of that film launched a film career that included roles in The Night of the Generals, as Mata Bond in the James Bond spoof Casino Royale, Peter Yates's Robbery with Stanley Baker, Blue with Terence Stamp, and the Victorian period comedy The Best House in London. In the 1970s her feature film appearances became sporadic and included roles in the cult horror filmsWelcome to Arrow Beach and The Evil. Pettet re-emerged as the star of over a dozen made-for-television movies, including The Weekend Nun, Footsteps, Pioneer Woman, A Cry in the Wilderness, The Desperate Miles, The Hancocks, Sex and the Married Woman, Cry of the Innocent with Rod Taylor, and The Return of Frank Cannon. She guest-starred four times on the classic Rod Serling anthology series Night Gallery where she met her co-star and husband Alex Cord while filming the episode "Keep in Touch - We'll Think of Something", she starred in the NBC miniseries Captains and the Kings, starred in the episode "You're Not Alone" from the 1977 NBC anthology series Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected, was a guest on both Fantasy Island and The Love Boat, and had a recurring role on Knots Landing in 1983 as Janet Baines, an LAPD homicide detective investigating the murder of singer Ciji Dunne. Pettet also made appearances on the television series The Fugitive, Banacek, McCloud, Mannix, Police Woman, Knight Rider and Murder, She Wrote. In 1984, she appeared as herself in a James Bond tribute episode of The Fall Guy alongside ex-Bond girls Britt Ekland and Lana Wood.
Personal Life
In 1968, Pettet married the American actor Alex Cord and gave birth to a son 3 and 1/2 months later. She and Cord were divorced in 1989 after 21 years of marriage. She has not remarried. In 2003, actor Alan Bates bequeathed Pettet £95,000 upon his death. The two had enjoyed a passionate affair 40 years earlier, and had rekindled their romance in 2002, months before he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pettet provided support and companionship during his final months. Pettet was quoted as saying: "It was a very touching gesture because he had done everything while he was in hospital to make sure I would be looked after following his death."
Recognition
Pettet won a Theatre World Award for 1964-1965 for her work in Poor Richard. She is portrayed by Rumer Willis in the 2019 film Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood.
