About
Radio, television, stage, and film actress who starred in major motion pictures such as White Christmas, Juvenile Jungle, and Tick, Tick, Tick. She enjoyed a tremendously successful career acting on radio, in programs like Lux Radio Theatre, The Screen Guild Theater, The Harold Peary Show, and NBC University Theatre. She appeared on numerous television series including Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, 77 Sunset Strip, and Bonanza.
Before Fame
She was born in Oxford, MS, and raised primarily in California. After making her radio debut in 1945, she went on to portray child characters in nearly every major Hollywood series throughout her childhood. At the age of 17, she began studying at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Trivia
After retiring from the entertainment industry in the year 1976, she earned a degree in mass communications. She subsequently launched a new career as an environmental activist and educator specializing in clean water issues at Washington State University's Department of Ecology.
Family Life
She was born to former University of Mississippi band director Richard N. Whitfield, Jr., and former speech teacher Frances Turner Whitfield. She married Frederick Roy Schiller in 1958 and they had 2 children before their divorce in 1969. In 1976, she remarried to Frederick Roy Schiller, with whom she had 1 child before their 2008 divorce.
Associated With
She performed alongside Jack Nicholson on the television series Tales of Wells Fargo. She also appeared opposite Robert Redford in the western drama series Tate.
