Early work Steele was signed to a contract by the
Rank Organisation. She appeared in several minor film roles during the late 1950s, including in the
BAFTA-winning
Sapphire (where she appeared opposite future
Black Sunday co-star
John Richardson) and
Upstairs and Downstairs. In 1960, her contract was sold to
20th Century Fox. She guest starred on an episode of the
ABC series,
Adventures in Paradise, and was cast as the female lead opposite
Elvis Presley in the Western film
Flaming Star (1960). However, after one week of principal photography, Steele left the production and was replaced by
Barbara Eden. Author Adam Victor writes in
The Elvis Encyclopaedia that she was fired because studio executives thought her British accent was too pronounced. However, Steele claimed she quit over a disagreement with director
Don Siegel. Regardless, a March 1960
Screen Actors Guild strike led Steele to abandon her Fox contract.
Italians films and stardom Steele travelled to Italy, with the hopes of working with director
Federico Fellini. Soon after her arrival, she was cast in her breakout part, the dual roles of Asa and Katia Vajda in
Mario Bava's
Black Sunday. There are two accounts describing how Steele came to be cast in the film: one suggests that Bava, while perusing through
head shots of British actors under contract at Fox, selected Steele from these photos. Bava later commented that Steele "had the perfect face for my films". In 2012, Gatiss again interviewed Steele about her role in
Shivers for his follow-up documentary,
Horror Europa. In 2014, she appeared in
Ryan Gosling's directorial debut, the drama-fantasy thriller film
Lost River, in which she portrayed the character Belladonna in a supporting role. In 2017, she was inducted into the
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards' Hall of Fame. In 2020, she had a guest role on the animated series
Castlevania, voicing the character Miranda. == Personal life ==