Actress. She appeared in around twenty movies in the late 1930s, then later helped persuade her friend Ronald Reagan to enter politics. Raised in Los Angeles, she was signed to a Warner Brothers contract in 1936, and performed in the 1937 "Marked Woman"; her most acclaimed role was as Paul Muni's doomed mistress in the 1939 "We Are Not Alone". In 1938, she appeared with Ronald Reagan and his then-wife Jane Wyman in "Brother Rat"; her final movie was to be the 1940 sequel "Brother Rat and a Baby". On New Year's Eve, 1939, she married wealthy drugstore tycoon Justin Dart (deceased 1984). The couple lived in Chicago and Boston, but returned to southern California in the mid-1940s; they were soon friends with the Reagans, but avoided discussion of politics with the then Democrat future President. The friendship continued, and, after Reagan became a Republican, the Darts encouraged his involvement in politics, and persuaded him to run for Governor of California in 1966. In her later years, Mrs. Dart persued her interest in archaeology and Egyptology. A patron of the arts, she served as a trustee of the Monterey Museum of Art, which houses a collection of works that she and her husband donated.
Actress. She appeared in around twenty movies in the late 1930s, then later helped persuade her friend Ronald Reagan to enter politics. Raised in Los Angeles, she was signed to a Warner Brothers contract in 1936, and performed in the 1937 "Marked Woman"; her most acclaimed role was as Paul Muni's doomed mistress in the 1939 "We Are Not Alone". In 1938, she appeared with Ronald Reagan and his then-wife Jane Wyman in "Brother Rat"; her final movie was to be the 1940 sequel "Brother Rat and a Baby". On New Year's Eve, 1939, she married wealthy drugstore tycoon Justin Dart (deceased 1984). The couple lived in Chicago and Boston, but returned to southern California in the mid-1940s; they were soon friends with the Reagans, but avoided discussion of politics with the then Democrat future President. The friendship continued, and, after Reagan became a Republican, the Darts encouraged his involvement in politics, and persuaded him to run for Governor of California in 1966. In her later years, Mrs. Dart persued her interest in archaeology and Egyptology. A patron of the arts, she served as a trustee of the Monterey Museum of Art, which houses a collection of works that she and her husband donated.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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