Actress. She is best remembered for her portrayal of the soft-spoken Leona, the mother of Sally Field's title character, in "Norma Rae" (1979). Born into a traditional working-class family, she began her career performing in local theatre while attending the College of the Pacific in Stockton, California. Upon relocating to New York City, New York, in 1947, she attained her degree in theatrical arts from the Neighborhood Playhouse and began appearing professionally on the stage as a leading lady in such productions as "Private Lives," "Peter Pan," "Camino Real," "Oh, Men! Oh, Women!," "The Frogs of Spring," "Bus Stop," "I Am a Camera," "The Flowering Peach," "Period of Adjustment," "The Three Sisters," "She Loves Me," "Me Jack, You Jill," "Plaza Suite," "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs," "Whodunnit," and "Best Friend." Upon being introduced to director Elia Kazan while attending a dinner party at the prestigious Sardi's Restaurant, he was so impressed by her blonde good looks, slim physique, and distinctive voice, that he took notice of her potential and arranged for her to begin a career in the film industry beginning with her appearing in a supporting role per his supervision in "East of Eden" (1955). From there, she would go on to flourish as a recognizable character actress appearing in over 70 features; often typecast as wives, mothers, old maids, busybodies, snobs, aristocrats, secretaries, nurses, educators, white-collared workers, eccentrics, curmudgeons, city slickers, reporters, columnists, businesswomen, exotics, femme fatales, historical figures, doctors, judges, retail clerks, faithful friends, villainesses, and matriarchs. She appeared in such feature films as "The Savage Eye" (1960), "All Fall Down" (1962), "Countdown" (1967), "No Way to Treat a Lady" (1972), "Nashville" (1975), "Butterflies in Heat" (1979), "A Stranger is Watching" (1982), "Sea of Love" (1989), "A Shock to the System" (1990), and "The Exorcist III" (1990). On television, she appeared in various guest spots on such syndicated sitcoms as "Pulitzer Prize Playhouse," "Starlight Theatre," "Treasury Men in Action," "The Revlon Mirror Theatre," "Campbell Summer Soundstage," "The Philico Television Playhouse," "Danger," "Inner Sanctum," "Kraft Theatre," "The United States Steel Hour," "Climax!," "Shirley Temple's Storybook," "The Kaiser Aluminum Hour," "Goodyear Playhouse," "Richard Diamond, Private Detective," "Perry Mason," "Telephone Time," "Studio One," "The Texas," "State Trooper," "Startime," "One Step Beyond," "Play of the Week," "Have Gun - Will Travel," "U.S. Marshal," "New York Confidential," "Diagnosis: Unknown," "Way Out," 'The New Breed," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Cain's Hundred," "Dr. Kildare," "Search for Tomorrow," "Armstrong Circle Theatre," "The Twilight Zone," "The Fugitive," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "Hawaii Five-O," "The Streets of San Francisco," "Naked City," "The Defenders," "Love, American Style," "Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law," "The Snoop Sisters," "All That Glitters," "The Rookies," "Khan!," "Hotel," "Murder, She Wrote," and "American Playhouse." During her career, she was a lifelong member of the Actors Studio, was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, was supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, had been a member the Hollywood Democratic Committee, was supportive of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, was a model for the Powers Agency, had been a theatrical instructor for Carnegie Mellon University, was a notable romantic companion of playwright William Inge, presided as a chairwoman on her local charters of Save the Children and the Humane Society, was one of the founding members of the Canyon Theatre Guild, had been influential in advancing the instrumental career of jazz musician Dave Brubeck, had been the 1961 nominee for the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play, was the recipient of both the 1960 Philadelphia Critics Award and the 1979 California Arts Commission Reward, had been a cousin of fellow character actor and stuntman Paul Reginald Baxley, and sat on the board of directors as a fashion consultant and spokesperson for Nordstrom Department Stores. She never married nor had any children.