Sandra Dee’s Granddaughter Shows Uncanny Resemblance to Grandma in Pics – Her Dad Is Bobby Darin’s Carbon Copy

• Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee’s beautiful love story made them parents to their only child, son Dodd, who bears a striking resemblance to his father.

• Dee couldn’t stand Bobby when they met, yet he managed to win her heart with his unique tricks.

• The couple’s beautiful granddaughters keep their legacy alive. One of them looks a lot like her famous grandmother!

Bobby Darin was ready to become an acting star after thrashing the music charts and got his opportunity in 1960. He got to have a junior lead alongside Sandra Dee, then 18, in “Come September,” and while in Italy, he started pursuing the actress.

While on the shore with Dee pulling in a boat, Bobby, then 24, called out, asking her to marry him. The actress declined his offer noting how that day wasn’t the one she’d say yes to, and she wasn’t impressed with him.

Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee posing together circa 1970 | Source: Getty Images

Dee thought he was cocky and conniving and didn’t want anything to do with him. Olivia Darin, the future couple’s granddaughter, once mentioned how fascinating it was that Dee didn’t like Bobby when her grandparents met, and “In fact, she couldn’t stand him!”

On their first meeting, he’d said, “Hi, I’m Bobby Darin. You’re going to be my wife!” but she refused him. The actor was frustrated at getting snubbed and started becoming childish in his ways, taunting her by chanting, “Sandra Dee has a flea.”

Bobby Darin and his wife, actress Sandra Dee, at the 33rd Academy Awards, in Santa Monica, California, on April 17, 1961 | Source: Getty Images

He even tried to seduce Dee’s mother, Mary Zuck, spending a late night charming her while the actress went to read in bed. Zuck eventually convinced her daughter to take a carriage ride with Bobby, and he explained to the actress that his recent deeds were because he was fearful.

Bobby felt out of his element, not being the main attraction, and fell in love with Dee without knowing how to get her to notice him. Soon enough, the pair were dating, seen flirting and giggling throughout Rome.

Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin, circa 1964 | Source: Getty Images

On December 1, 1960, Bobby and Dee eloped, leaving Zuck and others annoyed. The actress recalled her thoughts on the first morning she woke up in bed next to her husband, confessing how she’d never felt as safe as she did with the actor.

However, in 1963, Bobby was convinced that his wife was having an affair with Peter Fonda, her “Tammy and the Doctor” co-star. He got a servant to call the actress, who told her he wanted a divorce, but his wife denied having an affair and said she and Fonda were close co-stars.

When Bobby died in 1973, Dee couldn’t cope. Their son, Dodd Darin, revealed, “My mom never recovered from my dad’s passing.” He further explained, “They were divorced and hadn’t been together for years, but a lot of her died the day he died.”

Bobby Darin celebrates his wife, Sandra Dee’s birthday with a cake alongside their son Dodd Darin, circa 1966 | Source: Getty Images

The two stars only had one child during their marriage, and he made them grandparents when he welcomed his children. Dodd also kept his late father’s legacy alive through his looks.

Who Are Bobby and Sandra’s Offspring & How Do They Look?

In December 2017, Dodd’s daughter Olivia shared a throwback Instagram photo of her father and mother, Audrey Darin. She revealed that it was one of her favorite images of her parents and that she’d uploaded it in honor of her father’s birthday.

Dodd Darin and Sandra Dee at the “Love Letters” Post Party on May 14, 1991, at Johnny Rockets Restaurant in Beverly Hills, California | Source: Getty Images

Fans of Dodd’s father would notice how he was a carbon copy of the late star. Dee’s only child kept their memory alive by writing a biography titled “Dream Lovers: The Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee” in 1994.

He also oversaw his late father’s music catalog with his wife and marketed his parents’ likenesses and names. Besides Olivia, Dodd’s other daughter was Alexa, and she and her sister followed in their famous grandparent’s footsteps.

In 2014, Alexa, then 17, also admitted that she loved writing as it was her favorite way of expressing herself. However, she added that she found the idea of modeling and acting exciting, noting how her grandfather’s singing gene had skipped generations because she couldn’t “carry a tune to save my life!”

Olivia, then 12, also confessed that she couldn’t sing but had done plays and enjoyed dancing. Bobby’s granddaughter was on two dance teams and competed often, but she’d also modeled at fashion shows and took acting lessons.

Alexa, Dodd, and Olivia Darin accept the Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the late Bobby Darin at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Special Merit Awards and Nominee Reception on January 30, 2010, in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images

Olivia said she saw herself with a family but wanted an acting or modeling career. Alexa also noted how her grandparents inspired her daily, and she was 15 when she truly started understanding how famous they were and how many people they’d touched by doing what they loved.

Her younger sister agreed and said she understood how famous they were when she was nine or ten but met Dee and never met Bobby. Dodd’s youngest daughter recalled spending time with her grandmother, but she only learned more about her after her death and when she was older.

A headshot of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee, circa 1962 | Source: Getty Images

Olivia said she learned about Bobby through her father, who’d tell her stories and show her videos. Dodd’s daughter also saw some of Dee’s movies; her favorite one was “Gidget,” and she’d also listened to Bobby’s music frequently, adding:

“I think I look like my grandma, but a brunette version of her.”

In November 2022 and February 2023, Olivia uploaded some Instagram photos that showed how similar she was to her late grandmother. She also had a pair of her grandmother’s heels, and her mother had some of Dee’s jewelry and a charm bracelet.

Besides her father, Olivia also got to know more about her late grandmother through her older sister’s memories. What she wished to do with her grandparents was to sit down and ask them many questions while spending a day getting to know them better.

Alexa said she’d learn as much as possible about Bobby because she had never met him. She longed to spend a day with her grandparents and wanted to ask them about their lifestyles, but Olivia’s older sister had only gotten to see pictures of Bobby and hear stories about him, so she wished to talk to him face to face.

Dodd [Darin] wished his mother [Sandra Dee] understood that she was more than her image…

Dodd’s oldest shared how she was always learning more about her grandparents and was fortunate to have spent many years with Dee before she passed. The actress’s granddaughter heard fascinating stories about what it was like being a young girl in the limelight.

Although his father passed away when he was only twelve, Dodd was fortunate to have had many years with his mother. He was the one who nurtured her over the years as she struggled without Bobby by her side.

How Did Dodd Take Care of His Mother during Her Final Years?

In the past, Dodd’s late mother said she felt like a “has been that never was” before her thirtieth birthday. After Bobby died, Dee focused on raising their son, who described her as a loving mother but battled anorexia and alcoholism simultaneously.

Sandra Dee and Dodd Darin at the former’s book signing for “Dreamlovers” on November 26, 1994, in West Hollywood, California | Source: Getty Images

Without her husband, the actress worked as a real estate agent, and she and Dodd continued their codependent and destructive relationship. The star’s son once revealed how Zuck urged him not to be a victim like her while on her deathbed in 1988.

Zuck encouraged her grandson not to waste his life “cleaning up after” Dee. Bobby’s ex-wife struggled with relapses, went into recovery, and isolated herself for the remainder of her life, but she always had the support of her son, who was happily married.

Dodd Darin at the “Dream Lover – The Bobby Darin Musical” premiere at Lyric Theatre on October 6, 2016, in Sydney, Australia | Source: Getty Images

Dodd wished his mother understood that she was more than her image, as she’d never been able to develop a “sense of self” or to live everyday life. The actress’s son hoped his mother could feel good about herself and take pride in her accomplishments because she didn’t.

He explained how she’d thought she was a nobody unless she was Sandra Dee, the star with a significant career and busy life. The actress passed away in 2005 from kidney disease.

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