Dawn Wells is a legendary actress, famous for portraying the role of Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom, Gilligan's Island. The 80-year-old actress has several television and movie roles under her belt but Mary Ann is by far the most popular character of her career. 

Dawn Wells is the most popular of Gilligan's Island cast members

Dawn made her breakthrough in the American television industry with her role as Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island. Young and attractive Dawn was one of the two characters that men preferred the most on the sitcom, with Tina Louise's character Ginger Grant being the other one.

The question of who the men preferred the most endured long after the series ended in  1967. The question has been a source of inspiration for several essays, videos, and commercials as well. According to reports, Mary has consistently been at the top, outpolling the glamorous bombshell Ginger by a sizable margin.

Late actor Bob Denver, who portrayed the lead character as Gilligan, stated in a 2001 interview that Dawn received about 3000 to 5000 letters from fans in a weekly basis while Tina received about 1500 to 2000 letters. He also admitted being a fan of Mary Ann himself. 

At present, Dawn, 80, and Tina, 84, are the only remainders of Gilligan's Island cast. Actors like Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, and Russell Johnson have all passed away. 

What happened to Dawn Wells' net worth and family?

Recently in October 2018, Dawn came under the spotlight when one of her friends launched a GoFundMe page to help her with her financial problems. As of October 18, 2018, the Wells Campaign had collected over $194,000 from about 5,200 donors. As of now, the campaign has been declared successful with more than $205,000 raised. Although Wells seemed hesitant to accept the fund at first, she eventually accepted the donation and told Inside Edition that she is appreciative of her friends and fans' supports.

Harlan Boll, a representative of Wells, has stated that her team is in the process of creating a trust so that anyone who wants to know about the money can get all information. The fund is primarily targeted at helping Wells with medical and tax bills.

The campaign was created by Wells' long-time friend and hairstylist, Doug Patrick. He wrote, "After 2008, like many of us, Dawn suffered through the banking crash and lost everything including her life savings in addition to a life-threatening surgery which almost killed her." "Dawn was a victim of an unexpected accident that required hospitalization for two months and a very long time to rest and heal," he added.

Later, on September 6, 2018, Wells took to Facebook to share an emotional message as, "Wow! I am amazed at the kindness and affection I have received from the current outpouring in regards to the Go Fund Me Page that is grabbing so much attention and want to address it." 

"In a recent conversation with him [Doug] I remarked where did the time go? I don't know how this happened. I thought I was taking all the proper steps to ensure my golden years. Now, here I am, no family, no husband, no kids and no money," she added while expressing her gratefulness to the god, friends and fans.

Wells ended her marriage with her husband of 5 years, Larry Rosen, a talent agent, in 1967. She never remarried or had children. According to Celebrity Net Worth, she has a net of $50 thousand, as of 2018.