Actress. Born Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter, her father served as a justice of the Maine Supreme Court, her mother was a Shakespearean actress, she chose to pursue a career in show business and first gained experience in summer stock productions, followed by further preparation at the Montreal Repertory Theatre. This led to her Broadway association, initially in the Alfred Lunt production “There Shall Be No Night” (1940), followed four years later by the launching of her Hollywood career with the war drama “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” (1944). She went onto accumulate credits in the pictures “Blood on the Moon” (1948), “Act of Violence” (1948) and “Jim Thorpe, All-American” (1951), before suffering a career setback, when she contracted infantile paralysis in 1952. She recovered, however she would find it difficult to obtain substantial roles which she found with ease, prior to her illness. With the aid of television, she was able to revive her career and experienced a wide range of roles on such programs as “Thriller”, “The Twilight Zone”, “The Invaders” and “Medical Center”. A new generation of movie audiences would recognize her as Ma Kent in the picture “Superman” (1978). She was formerly married to television producer James T. Aubrey and later to former collegiate football star (Princeton University) Gilbert Lea. She was the recipient of a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. She died after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. (bio by: C.S.)  Family links:  Spouse:  James Thomas Aubrey (1918 – 1994)