Gidget, The Original Surfer Girl

Sandra Dee captivated audiences, in the 1959 beach movie, “Gidget.” Gidget was a California girl that rode the waves long before it was acceptable for girls to surf. The character of Gidget was adapted from Frederick Kohner’s 1950’s novel about a Southern California girl named, Gidget, who hit the beach and became fascinated with surfing.

Gidget refused to be discouraged. The defiant, spunky, little-bit of a teenage girl showed those boys that she could hold her own. Before long she was surfing at Malibu’s Surfrider Beach with the best of them! Gidget was one of the first females to hang ten at the beach. She had finally won their respect! After recounting the experience to her screenwriter father, he was inspired, and the rest is history.