Actress. A gorgeous blonde, she is probably best remembered for her appearances in several 'film noir' features of the 1940s. Born Janis Dremann, she was raised in Cleveland, graduated from Case Western Reserve University, moved to New York for vocal training, supported herself as a church soloist, salesgirl at Bloomingdale's, writer for "Gangbusters", and Powers model, and after an unsuccessful Metropolitan Opera audition made her 1937 Broadway debut in "Virginia". Janis attracted attention with her appearances in "Du Barry Was a Lady" and "Panama Hattie" and was signed to a 20th Century Fox contract, changing her last name to "Carter" prior to her 1941 silver screen bow in "Cadet Girl". Through the 1940s, she was kept busy at several studios, her sultry good-looks making her a perfect seductress or 'other woman', as well as a sought after World War II pinup girl and model for "Yank" and similar publications. Janis had starring roles in the comedy "Girl Trouble" and the propaganda thriller "Secret Agent of Japan" (both 1942) but achieved her greatest note in such film noir dramas as "Mark of the Whistler" (1945), the 1946 "Night Editor", 1947's "Framed", and the 1948 "I Love Trouble". In 1949 she was seen in the drama "I Married a Communist" and in the farce "Miss Grant Takes Richmond", then in 1951 in the war flick "Flying Leathernecks" and the western "The Half-Breed". After starring in 1952's "Santa Fe", she mostly concentrated on television, being seen as the hostess of Bud Collyer's quiz show "Feather Your Nest" and in such fare as "Double Profile" (1954) and 1955's "The Elgin Hour". In 1956 Janis married wealthy shipping magnate Julius Stulman and largely retired, though she did earn a final credit in Russ Meyer's 1962 comedy "Wild Gals of the Naked West". Maintaining homes in Florida, North Carolina, and, during the opera season, New York City, she served on the boards of the Ringling Brothers Museum and several opera companies and theaters. Janis died of a heart attack; today some of her films are preserved on DVD.