Holt was born on April 28, 1928, in Snyder, Texas, to Malcolm C. and Verna Vesta Stavely, née Chandler. After she graduated from high school in Hagerman, New Mexico, she attended McMurry University in Abilene, Texas. She was a model in Houston, Texas.
In 1956, Holt was crowned Miss Maryland and in July, 1956 participated in the Miss USA pageant in Long Beach, California where she was a semi-finalist. In August, 1957 she was among nine Models sent to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by Rose Marie Reid Swim Suits of Los Angeles and the Eileen Ford Agency in New York City.
Holt appeared in various TV commercials in 1958 and reportedly signed a $50,000-a-year modeling contract in New York at age 29. She was in a Revlon lipstick commercial, in which she was reportedly spotted by Director Howard Hawks who later cast her in several of his films. She was subsequently named "Miss Sweater Girl" in October, 1958 by the Wool Bureau. The contest was held in the Crystal Suite of the Savoy Hilton Hotel in New York.
Holt's first credited role was as Lisa, a model, in If a Man Answers, a 1962 comedy film directed by Henry Levin and starring Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee.
Holt married william A. Tishman, a millionaire builder in Los Angeles on October 7, 1966. They resided in Beverly Hill’s Trousdale Estates until their divorce in June 1972.
Holt died on April 5, 1996, in Williamson County, Tennessee. She was 67.
