Nancy Tribble Benda

Nancy Tribble Benda (April 2, 1930 – July 28, 2015) was an actress, educator, and a pioneer of early educational television with her show Miss Nancy’s Store.

Early years As a teenager, Nancy Tribble was one of the first mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs. Her swimming status got her a trip to Hollywood to be Ann Blyth's swimming double in the 1948 film Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid. She was fitted for a mermaid costume for the movie which cost $18,000 to create. As a result of the publicity generated by the movie and her performance, she received a key to the city of Tampa, Florida. After Miss Nancy’s Store, Benda went on to work for the Florida Department of Education. She received recognition for her work by governor, Lawton Chiles as well as receiving the Rosa Parks Award for Leadership from Florida State University. Benda, a school teacher at the time, took a summer school class learning about educational television. She and other school teachers created a curriculum for a fifth grade social studies class to be broadcast on television.