Maureen Hingert dead: The King and I star's cause of death shared as family pay tribute

Maureen Hingert has died aged 88 as her daughter confirmed the sad news. The Hollywood actress, known for appearing in The King and I, died on Sunday of liver failure.

She was born in Sri Lanka in 1937 and featured in a number of Hollywood films including The King and I, Gun Fever, and Gunmen From Laredo. Following her death at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, Hingert's daughter said: “It was a beautiful and peaceful passing.”

The Miss Universe runner-up was best known for her work in The King and I, which was nominated for nine Oscars. The film won five Academy Awards and featured stars Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, and Rita Moreno.

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Hingert also appeared in Western movies such as 1958’s Gun Fever and 1959’s Gunmen From Laredo, where she played substantial roles as a Native American. Aside from acting, she had a successful pageant career and was crowned Miss Ceylon.

She finished as a runner-up at Miss Universe in 1955 in Long Beach, California. It was the first Miss Universe to be aired on television. Hingert originally entered the competition as Miss Ceylon when she was just 18-years-old.

Her success in the competition made her the first from her country to ever reach the final. Hingert's appearance at the contest has been credited with putting her South Asian island country "on the map".

After being crowned Miss Ceylon, Hingert decided to stay in California and landed a contract at Universal. She secured her role in Western film Pillars of the Sky alongside Jeff Chandler and Dorothy Malone.

Acting and modelling wasn't the only success of Hingert, as she regularly performed as a dancer on Los Angeles. Her photoshoot from the film Gun Fever also landed her a spot in Playboy Magazine in September 1957.

Other films she starred in include Fort Bowie and The Rawhide Trail and episodes of The Adventures of Hiram Holliday, Death Valley Days and Captain David Grief.

By 1960, Hingert decided she was done with acting and, soon after, she welcomed her first of three daughters, Gina. She married Mario Armond Zamparelli, chief designer for Howard Hughes’ corporate empire.

The company were behind RKO Pictures' movie posters and the Desert Inn. Hingert met Mario when she was modelling for a TWA mural he was painting.

They were married from 1958 until their divorce in 1970. Their daughter Gina, who worked as a concert promoter, died in 2018 of a brain tumor aged 59. Hingert and Mario's daughter Andrea also died in 2009 aged 42.

Fans paid tribute to Hingert on social media as one said: "Rest in peace, Ms Maureen Hingert. Thank you for bringing much glory to the 'pearl in the Indian Ocean' - Sri Lanka."

Another added: "Maureen Hingert, Sri Lanka’s First Miss Universe Finalist & Hollywood Star, Passes Away. A true pioneer and icon remembered."

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