Actress. She graduated from the University of Memphis and competed in the 1959 Miss Tennessee pageant, earning first runner-up. She then began an acting career, first on the Memphis stage and later in New York City theaters. After a hiatus, she returned to acting in 1974, landing television parts on the daytime dramas "One Life to Live" and "The Edge of Night." Carter appeared in several prime-time shows throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, including "Out of the Blue," "On Our Own," "Diff'rent Strokes," and "Filthy Rich." From 1986 to 1993, she starred as interior decorator Julia Sugarbaker on the hit CBS series "Designing Women," and from 1999 to 2002, she appeared in the CBS legal drama "Family Law." In 2006 and 2007, Carter received favorable notice as the disturbed Gloria Hodge on ABC's "Desperate Housewives," earning an Emmy nomination. She was also an accomplished singer, winning positive reviews for her cabaret performances and recordings. She married three times; her husbands included actors George Hearn (1977 to 1979) and Hal Holbrook (1984 until her death). In 1996, she published a memoir, "Trying to Get to Heaven." The Dixie Carter Performing Arts and Academic Enrichment Center ("the Dixie") in Huntingdon, Tennessee, is named for her.
Actress. She graduated from the University of Memphis and competed in the 1959 Miss Tennessee pageant, earning first runner-up. She then began an acting career, first on the Memphis stage and later in New York City theaters. After a hiatus, she returned to acting in 1974, landing television parts on the daytime dramas "One Life to Live" and "The Edge of Night." Carter appeared in several prime-time shows throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, including "Out of the Blue," "On Our Own," "Diff'rent Strokes," and "Filthy Rich." From 1986 to 1993, she starred as interior decorator Julia Sugarbaker on the hit CBS series "Designing Women," and from 1999 to 2002, she appeared in the CBS legal drama "Family Law." In 2006 and 2007, Carter received favorable notice as the disturbed Gloria Hodge on ABC's "Desperate Housewives," earning an Emmy nomination. She was also an accomplished singer, winning positive reviews for her cabaret performances and recordings. She married three times; her husbands included actors George Hearn (1977 to 1979) and Hal Holbrook (1984 until her death). In 1996, she published a memoir, "Trying to Get to Heaven." The Dixie Carter Performing Arts and Academic Enrichment Center ("the Dixie") in Huntingdon, Tennessee, is named for her.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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Dixie Virginia Carter
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