Nichols was born Barbara Marie Nickerauer to George and Julia Nickerauer and was raised in
Queens, New York. Early in her career, Nichols was a showgirl when a club owner offered her a much higher salary to perform striptease. She declined the offer, keeping her focus on becoming an actress. She began modeling for
cheesecake magazines in the late 1940s and eventually was considered a minor rival to
Marilyn Monroe. On
Broadway, she appeared in the 1952 revival of
Pal Joey (she also appeared in the
1957 film version) and in
Let It Ride (1961). In the mid-1950s, she moved to Hollywood and began appearing in showy supporting roles in A-films, such as
Miracle in the Rain (1956),
The King and Four Queens (1956),
The Naked and the Dead (1958),
The Pajama Game (1957),
Sweet Smell of Success (1957),
That Kind of Woman (1958), and
Where the Boys Are (1960), with high-profile actors, including
Clark Gable,
Susan Hayward,
Sophia Loren, and
Doris Day. One of her few starring roles was in the 1965 science-fiction film
The Human Duplicators. Her final film was
Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood in 1976. Nichols was a frequent guest star on many television series, including ''
It's a Great Life, The Jack Benny Television Show, The Twilight Zone (in the episode "Twenty Two" S2 E17 1961), The Untouchables, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, Going My Way, Adam-12, Batman (episodes 35 and 36), Emergency! (season 4, episode 12), Hawaii Five-O, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies''. ==Death==