As an actress, socialite and model, she made the cover of Life magazine on January 11, 1960.
Both she and her then husband Cliff Robertson played "Special Guest Villains" in "Batman" (1966).
Current husband, Ted Hartley, was a regular on the "Peyton Place" (1964) television series. In 1989, they bought RKO Pictures, which they run today. The studio's recent hit was Mighty Joe Young (1998).
He is one of only 9 actors to have played "Special Guest Villains" in "Batman" (1966) who are still alive, the others being Malachi Throne, Julie Newmar, John Astin, Eli Wallach, Joan Collins, Glynis Johns, Barbara Rush and Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Her cousin was heiress Barbara Hutton who at one time was married to Cary Grant, who later co-starred with Merrill in Operation Petticoat (1959).
Her mother's first husband, Edward Bennett Close, later became the grandfather of actress Glenn Close.
In April of 2005, she received a lifetime achievement award from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
On Broadway in the 40s before moving to film, she was hardly ever stretched during her career, typed rather severely as a tactful, altruistic wife in family fare or elegant socialite and patron of the arts in sophisticated fluff.
On the artistic side, she is a trustee of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and a director of the Museum of Broadcasting. She was also a presidential appointee to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Received the Women's International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award in 1994.
She studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.
Spent her winters growing up at Mar-A-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida's largest and most elaborate estate. Today, Mar-a-Lago is owned by Donald Trump, who runs the estate as a private club and residence. Trump rescued the estate from condemnation in 1985, and painstakingly restored it to its former glory.
Two of Dina Merrill's three children with second husband Stanley Rumbaugh, Jr., a Colgate heir, are David (deceased) and Nina. She and third husband Cliff Robertson are the parents of daughter Stephanie.
When one of her children was diagnosed with diabetes, she became one of the founders of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, which is dedicated to diabetic research. She is also a director of Project Orbis, a flying ophthamological hospital which teaches advanced eye care and performs surgical techniques around the world.