Who Is Sharon Tate? Charles Manson Murder Victim Shown In Photos

Notorious cult leader Charles Manson died Sunday at the age of 83. Manson, who ran a commune outside of Los Angeles, was jailed in 1971 after being convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy following the murders of seven people by his followers. The best-known victim of the killing spree was 26-year-old Sharon Tate.

Tate, an actress, was murdered by Manson’s followers in August 1969 when she was eight and a half months pregnant with director Roman Polanski’s child. Tate had married director Polanski in a 1968 ceremony at the Playboy Club in London. The actress was perhaps best known for her roles in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies and the hit film Valley of the Dolls.

“Being in Sharon’s presence was being enveloped in grace,” said one of her co-stars, Patty Duke. “Her inner beauty superseded her outer beauty, if you can imagine.”

Tate was brutally murdered inside the home she and Polanski had rented. Tate was stabbed in the stomach 16 times, according to reports, even as she begged for the life of her unborn baby.

Coffee bean heiress Abigail Folger, writer Wojciech Frykowski, celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring and house caretaker Steven Parent were also murdered that night. Two other people, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, were killed by cult members the next day.

“The world lost an amazing set of philanthropists,” Tate’s sister, Debra, told ABC News in March of Tate and her friends. “They definitely would have been the movers and shakers in this industry.”

Manson was imprisoned in 1971 after he and other members of the cult were convicted of murder. Manson was denied parole 12 times during his time in prison and remained behind bars at Corcoran State Prison in California until the time of his death.

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