Jill Haworth

Haworth's first film appearance was in the remake of The 39 Steps (1959), directed by Ralph Thomas, when she had a non-speaking part as a schoolgirl. Next she played another schoolgirl in The Brides of Dracula (1960), directed by Terence Fisher.

Otto Preminger was seeking a new fresh face for the role of Karen Hansen, an ill-fated Jewish-Danish refugee girl in love with Dov Landau (Sal Mineo), for his film Exodus (1960). He travelled to Britain and Germany, with his fiancée Hope Bryce, searching for a girl to cast in the role. After looking at hundreds of girls, Preminger spotted a photo of Haworth in a modelling magazine for the Corona Theatre School.

Haworth went to the three auditions in order to get out of school. She was only 15 years old when she was cast as Karen Hansen in her first credited role in a feature film. Haworth appeared in the 31 July 1960 issue of Parade magazine. She and Mineo appeared on the front cover of the 12 December 1960 issue of LIFE, part of a photo essay by Gjon Mili.

Under contract to Preminger (for five years), she also worked with him in The Cardinal, (1963) as Lalage Menton, and In Harm's Way (1965), as Ensign Annalee Dorne, a Nurse Corps officer who, while engaged to Ensign Jeremiah Torrey (Brandon deWilde), commits suicide after being raped by Captain Paul Eddington, Jr. (Kirk Douglas). Haworth liked working with De Wilde, Patricia Neal, and Douglas, but called John Wayne "the meanest, nastiest man with the worst attitude I ever worked with." Wayne's other costars didn't share her opinion.