Charmian was in college and working part time for a doctor in Los Angeles, with no desire for acting as she was planning on being a speech therapist when she got a call from one of the producers of the movie. She didn't know at the time but a friend of hers sent her picture to the movie studio and said that Charmain could sing and dance. The truth is she never really did much dancing or singing before but as we saw, she definitely had it in her.
Do you remember the classic scene where she's with her boyfriend singing and dancing in the gazebo? She got hurt while filming the scene because the costume department forgot to put no-slips on the bottom of her shoes and due to the water (a rain scene), and slippery flooring she ended up sliding through one of the gazebo windows. She said it was agony trying to finish the scene.
She didn’t stay in the acting business and ended up marrying a dentist and having children and grandchildren. She also went on to have a successful decorating business. Unfortunately, she died in 2016 at the age of 73 due to complications from dementia. Her reputation was amazing as people around her said that she was always beautiful inside as well as out.