<P> In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected Imitation of Life for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" just like the original 1934 film . </P> <P> In 1947, widow Lora Meredith (Lana Turner) dreams of becoming a famous Broadway actress . Losing track of her young daughter Susie at the beach (portrayed as a child by Terry Burnham), she asks a stranger named Steve Archer (John Gavin) to help her find the girl . Susie is found and looked after by Annie Johnson (Juanita Moore), a black single mother who also has a daughter, Sarah Jane (portrayed as a child by Karin Dicker), who is about Susie's age . Sarah Jane inherited her father's fair skin and can pass for white . She does this with fierce zeal and fervor, taking advantage of her European heritage and features . In return for Annie's kindness, Lora temporarily takes in Annie and her daughter . Annie persuades Lora to let her stay and look after the household, so that the widow can pursue an acting career . </P> <P> With struggles along the way, Lora becomes a star of stage comedies, with Allen Loomis (Robert Alda) as her agent and David Edwards (Dan O'Herlihy) as her chief playwright . Although Lora had begun a relationship with Steve Archer, the stranger she met at the beach, their courtship falls apart because he does not want her to be a star . Lora's concentration on her career prevents her from spending time with her daughter, who sees more of Annie . Annie and Sarah Jane have their own problems, as Sarah Jane is struggling with her mixed - race identity and wants to pass for white because of its privileges in American society in the pre-civil rights era . </P> <P> Eleven years later, in 1958, Lora is a highly regarded Broadway star living in a luxurious home in New York . Annie continues to live with her, serving as nanny, housekeeper, confidante and best friend . After rejecting David's latest script (and his marriage proposal), Lora takes a role in a dramatic play . At the show's after - party, she meets Steve, whom she has not seen in a decade . The two slowly begin rekindling their relationship, and Steve is reintroduced to Annie and the now - teenaged Susie (Sandra Dee) and Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner). When Lora is signed to star in an Italian motion picture, she leaves Steve to watch after Susie . The teenager develops an unrequited crush on her mother's boyfriend . </P>

Imitation of life cast where are they now