She had just begun her career, captivating millions of viewers with her striking beauty and her role as a bikini-clad flirt in Stephen Bauer’s Scarface.
But then, in the blink of an eye, she vanished without a trace on the beach, leaving behind only questions and a mystery that has lasted 42 long years.
Was Tammy Lynn Leppert the architect and star of the perfect holiday or the victim of the perfect crime?
Dominated beauty pageants
The story of Tammy Lynn Leppert is a story of Hollywood dreams, beauty and a shocking, unsolved mystery that has haunted the world for over four decades.
Born in 1965 in Rockledge, Florida, Tammy was destined for greatness. With her blonde hair, hazel eyes and innate charm, she captivated audiences from the moment she stepped into the spotlight.
At just four years old, Tammy began participating in beauty pageants. And she didn’t just participate – she dominated. By her teenage years, she had participated in more than 300 pageants, winning 280 of them. But that was just the beginning. In 1978, Tammy appeared on the cover of CoverGirl magazine, cementing her place as a rising star in the modelling world.
‘I’ve always loved showing off in front of people. When I was a little girl, I loved entering pageants because I loved dressing up, especially in old-fashioned clothes, you know, with old-fashioned hats with feathers. It’s like being a southern belle, wearing those big dresses,’ Tammy explains.
Behind her early success was her mother, Linda Curtis, who supported Tammy’s ambitions with unwavering devotion.
‘I was constantly busy racing her back and forth about where she should go and what she should do. And I loved it. I loved watching her succeed because she was always striving for the best, for the highest level,’ Curtis recalled.
Aiming for an Oscar
Tammy’s first role was as a party girl in Little Darlings (1980), and the local media quickly embraced her as their own future star. The blonde beauty savoured every moment of attention.
‘I’m not surprised by all this attention. I’ve worked for this and I’m very excited and happy. I’ve always dreamed of a life like this, although I never want to be far from the beach. It’s going to take some time, but I want to win an Oscar and meet people like Burt Reynolds and Lee Majors. Acting…it’s in my blood. I’ve always wanted people to look at me and like to take pictures. A good actress can do anything,’ she told The News and Daily Advance.
Her breakthrough came in 1983 when she starred in Scarface, a film that became a cult event in cinema history.
At 18, she played a small but unforgettable role as a bikini-clad girl who distracts a surveillance machine during the infamous chainsaw scene. It seemed that nothing could stop her rise to Hollywood fame.
That same year, the film Scarface was released, and Tammy starred in Spring Break (1983), where she took part in a boxing match, further enhancing her Hollywood presence. Her legs, thighs and torso were reportedly featured on the film’s main poster, further cementing her status as a rising star.
The party that changed everything
However, something dark was going on behind the scenes. Rumours began to circulate that Tammy had witnessed something terrible at the party – an event so disturbing that it shook her to the core. After finishing filming Spring Break, 18-year-old Tammy went to the party unaccompanied. When she returned, she was unrecognisable – she was a completely different person.
As her mental health rapidly deteriorated, her once promising career took a terrifying turn. She became paranoid, convinced that someone was out to get her. Her behaviour became increasingly erratic and those who had once known her began to worry.
It was later revealed that something disturbing also happened during the filming of Scarface, which began in Miami in March 1983. During the filming of the film, Tammy was staying with a family friend, Walter Liebowitz. According to Walter, everything was going smoothly until the fourth day of filming:
‘I got a call from the casting director telling me that Tami had a breakdown on set. They said it was a scene where someone was supposed to be shot and given artificial blood. According to them, as Tami was watching this scene, she started crying hysterically and it got so bad that she had to be taken to a trailer. She was in a state of great fear, anxiety… What exactly caused this intense fear in her, I don’t know. When I spoke to Tami’s mother, I told her that she should take Tami to a doctor and also contact the police to find out if the problem is psychological or if there is any reason to believe that someone is actually trying to kill her and get to the bottom of it.’
Tammy Lynn left the film and returned home. At her mother’s insistence, she spoke to the local sheriff, but never mentioned that she felt her life was in danger. Even with her family around, Tammy’s paranoia only intensified. According to Wing, she was convinced someone was trying to poison her:
‘There were good days and there were bad days. There were days when she was almost normal. And there were days when she was very nervous.’
Vanished without a trace
Then, on 1 July, Tammy finally snapped. She started smashing all the windows in the house and attacked Wing. At this point, Linda realised that something was wrong with her daughter. In an attempt to get Tammy the help she needed, her mother, Linda Curtis, admitted her to a Melbourne psychiatric hospital for observation.
Tammy was held there for 72 hours, but the results were startling – blood and urine tests came back negative for drugs, and she had no history of drug use.
On 6 July 1983, just a few months after the release of the film Scarface, Tammy disappeared without a trace. In fact, she disappeared as cleanly as if she never existed.
As she left her home in Rockledge in the early hours of July 6, she called out, ‘Bye mummy, I’ll see you in a little while, OK?’.
According to Detective Jim Scrugg of the Cocoa Beach, Florida Police Department, Tammy and her friend drove to a local beach where a heated argument broke out between them.
‘This friend picked her up from her house and they went to the beach. We talked to him. He told us that there was a verbal argument between them. She asked that he let her out near the Glass Bank in Cocoa Beach and he complied.’
Tami’s friend said he dropped her off about five miles from her home. The model and actress was wearing a blue denim skirt and a blue top adorned with floral appliques, as well as sandals and carrying a grey handbag.
Detective Scrugg said this was the last time Tami Lynn was seen alive.
‘She disappeared without a trace. We spoke to some of her close friends. They felt that Tami was having problems at home and … she wanted to leave the house.’
Got two strange phone calls
According to some reports, Tammy may have been barefoot before she disappeared. There was also speculation that she was three months pregnant at the time, although this was never confirmed.
Following Tammy’s disappearance, Cocoa Beach Detective Harold Lewis received two phone calls from a woman who claimed Tammy was still alive. In the first call, the woman stated that Tammy would make contact when the time was right.
The second call revealed that Tammy was fulfilling her dream by attending school to become a nurse.
Tammy’s disappearance shocked her family, friends and the public, with theories ranging from foul play to a sudden mental breakdown.
Tammy’s mother Lynn Leppert later revealed that her daughter was ‘scared’ of the male friend who had picked her up that day and dropped her off, raising suspicions of his involvement. However, authorities never officially named him as a suspect and no charges were filed against him.
Chilling theories surrounding the case
An age progression image created by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children shows what Tammy might have looked like as an adult. Despite years of searching, her disappearance remains a mystery.
The investigation eventually led to a man named Christopher Wilder, also known as the ‘Beauty Queen Killer,’ who was responsible for the murders of several young women in 1984, some of which occurred in Florida.
National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children
Wilder was known for luring victims into his car or home, often claiming they were being solicited for modelling work – it may have been this tactic that convinced Tammy, a famous model, to confide in him.
Wilder was killed in a shootout with police in New Hampshire in April 1984, and despite suspicions against him, authorities were never able to find concrete evidence linking him to Tammy’s disappearance.
Another possible suspect was John Brennan Crutchley, also known as the ‘Vampire Rapist,’ who was operating in Florida around the time Tammy disappeared. Like Wilder, Crutchley was never definitively linked to the case, and police have been unable to gather enough evidence to link him to the disappearance.
But the truth remains elusive, and the Tammy case remains one of Hollywood’s most enduring mysteries. Linda Curtis always believed that the truth about her daughter would eventually come to light. Whether by luck, a key witness, or an overlooked minor detail, she was certain that someone, somewhere had the answer.
Sadly, Linda never got to see her daughter. She passed away in Orlando in 1995 from a degenerative heart condition. In her last interview, when her voice was lost, she made one last heartfelt plea to the public:
‘I won’t be able to charge anyone. I just want to know,’ she said.
What do you think happened to Tammy Lynn Leppert? Was it an act of fate or something darker? For more than 40 years, this question has haunted her loved ones and those who followed her short and colourful career.
