born in cairo, kingdom of egypt, hills is the daughter of teacher, traveller, author, and adventurer denis hills. her mother was wanda "dunia" leśmianówna, daughter of polish poet bolesław leśmian. she spent her early years in nice (france), where she was discovered at 14 by roger vadim, the director of "and god created woman" and "barbarella", who saw her as the next brigitte bardot and cast her in a version of "les liaisons dangereuses" (1959).