Ann Blyth, the actress of Hollywood’s Golden Age whose breakout came in 1945’s Mildred Pierce, has died. She was 98.
The Academy Award nominee “died peacefully of natural causes” on Wednesday, according to KABC’s George Pennacchio, who noted her passing comes two months before her 99th birthday.
Born Aug. 16, 1927 in Mount Kisko, New York, Blyth began performing on children’s radio shows at age 6, before landing her first Broadway role in Lillian Hellman’s Watch on the Rhine in 1941. While touring with the show in Los Angeles, she landed a contract with Universal Studios.
Making her onscreen debut in the 1944 teen musical Chip Off the Old Block, Blyth gave her breakout performance in Mildred Pierce (1945) as Veda Pierce, the scheming daughter of Joan Crawford’s titular character. The role earned 16-year-old Blyth an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
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Blyth went on to appear in such films as Killer McCoy (1947), Brute Force (1947), Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), Our Very Own (1950) and The Great Caruso (1951), as well as episodes of Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, Quincy M.E. and Murder She Wrote.
On stage, she starred in shows like The King and I, The Sound of Music and Show Boat.
Blyth is survived by her five children, whom she shared with late husband Dr. James McNulty, as well as 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.