Actress. Born in New York City, her parents were active in civil rights causes and with the NAACP. She attended Smith College and the New School before making her professional acting debut on Broadway in the production “Strange Fruit” (1945 to 1946). During the 1950s, she accumulated TV roles on the programs “The Alcoa Hour” and “Kraft Theatre”, but it would be on the stage where her most prolific work was to be accomplished, notably her origination of the role as Queen Aggravain in the Tony Award-winning comedy “Once Upon a Mattress” (1959 to 1960). Off-Broadway, she found success in Michael Cacoyannis’ “The Trojan Women” (1963 to 1965) and garnered two Obies with “Love’s Labor Lost” (1966) and “Coriolanus” (1966). In 1972, she repeated her role in the TV-movie “Once Upon a Mattress” and had supporting parts in the motion pictures “Klute” (1971) and “Beloved” (1998). (bio by: C.S.)