Who do you think of when you hear the term "girl next door"? For the millions of people who grew up watching "Gilligan's Island," the answer is no doubt Dawn Wells. Wells played down-to-earth bombshell Mary Ann Summers for all three seasons of the 1960s sitcom, then continued to reprise the role in various projects for years to come.

Unlike some stars of classic TV shows, she never seemed to have a problem with being best-known for one role, and gave interviews about her time on "Gilligan's Island" for the rest of her life. According to series creator Sherwood Schwartz's book "Inside Gilligan's Island," young girls came to Wells for life advice even decades after the show had ended. "I'm still Mary Ann, I guess," he recalled her telling him.

Wells earned her role on "Gilligan's Island" around 1964, after a failed pilot the year before had conceived of a similar character named "Bunny.