Diana Hyland: Diana Hyland. Actress: The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Diana Hyland, a striking, knowing beauty with a confident air about her, was born Joan Diane (or Joan Diana) Gentner on January 25, 1936, in Ohio and appeared on stage in summer stock, as a teen, before graduating from Cleveland Heights High School.
Moving to New York in 1955, aged 19, to test her acting mettle, the slim-faced, honey-blonde actress began to...