Suellyn Lyon (born July 10, 1946) is an American actress best known for her performance in Lolita (1962), for which she earned a Golden Globe Award, as well as The Night of the Iguana (1964), The Flim-Flam Man (1967), and Evel Knievel (1971).
Suellyn Lyon was born on July 10, 1946, in Davenport, Iowa. When she was 14 years old, she was cast in the role of Dolores "Lolita" Haze in Stanley Kubrick's film Lolita (1962). She was chosen for the role partly because the film makers had to alter the age of the character to an older adolescent rather than the 12-year-old child Lolita in Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita novel. Though Kubrick's film altered the story so as not to be in violation of the Hollywood Production Code, it was still one of the most controversial films of the day.
Lyon was only 15 when the film premiered in June 1962. She became an instant celebrity and won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer—Female. Despite her inexperience, she was praised for holding her own in scenes with the three top-billed stars of the film: James Mason, Shelley Winters, and Peter Sellers. She recorded two songs for the film, which were released on an MGM 45-rpm record. The song "Lolita Ya Ya" (Riddle–Harris) appeared on side A, and "Turn Off the Moon" (Stillman-Harris) appeared on side B.