Jane Wyman

American actress

Also known as: Sarah Jane Fulks, Sarah Jane Mayfield

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Article History

Quick Facts

Original name:: Sarah Jane Mayfield

Also known as:: Sarah Jane Fulks

Born:: January 5, 1917, St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S.

Died:: September 10, 2007, Rancho Mirage, California, U.S. (aged 90)

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (1949); Academy Award (1949): Actress in a Leading Role; Golden Globe Award (1984): Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama; Golden Globe Award (1952): Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama; Golden Globe Award (1951): World Film Favorites; Golden Globe Award (1949): Best Actress in a Leading Role

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "My Three Sons" (1970); "The Body Disappears" (1941); "Kid Nightingale" (1939); "So Big" (1953); "Starlift" (1951); "Just for You" (1952); "My Love Came Back" (1940); "The Doughgirls" (1944); "Checkmate" (1960); "The Kid from Kokomo" (1939); "The Blue Veil" (1951); "You're in the Army Now" (1941); "Tugboat Annie Sails Again" (1940); "The Yearling" (1946); "Holiday for Lovers" (1959); "Smart Blonde" (1937); "Flight Angels" (1940); "All That Heaven Allows" (1955); "The Sixth Sense" (1972); "One More Tomorrow" (1946); "The King and the Chorus Girl" (1937); "Ready, Willing and Able" (1937); "Slim" (1937); "Cheyenne" (1947); "Three Guys Named Mike" (1951); "The Glass Menagerie" (1950); "Public Wedding" (1937); "Larceny, Inc." (1942); "Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre" (1955–1958); "Lux Playhouse" (1959); "Bon Voyage!" (1962); "Summer Playhouse" (1954); "Crime by Night" (1944); "Falcon Crest" (1981–1990); "Brother Rat" (1938); "The Love Boat" (1980); "Here Comes the Groom" (1951); "Honeymoon for Three" (1941); "A Kiss in the Dark" (1949); "The Story of Will Rogers" (1952); "Hollywood Canteen" (1944); "He Couldn't Say No" (1938); "Charlie's Angels" (1980); "Footlight Serenade" (1942); "Tail Spin" (1939); "Mr. Dodd Takes the Air" (1937); "The Investigators" (1961); "The Red Skelton Show" (1968); "Gambling on the High Seas" (1940); "Princess O'Rourke" (1943); "The Bold Ones: The New Doctors" (1972–1973); "How to Commit Marriage" (1969); "Magnificent Obsession" (1954); "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" (1993); "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" (1966); "Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law" (1974); "Bad Men of Missouri" (1941); "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" (1960); "Lucy Gallant" (1955); "Johnny Belinda" (1948); "Insight" (1962–1967); "Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite" (1939); "Let's Do It Again" (1953); "My Favorite Spy" (1942); "The Lady Takes a Sailor" (1949); "Magic Town" (1947); "The Singing Marine" (1937); "The Lost Weekend" (1945); "Make Your Own Bed" (1944); "Private Detective" (1939); "Night and Day" (1946); "Pollyanna" (1960); "The Crowd Roars" (1938); "The Spy Ring" (1938); "Wagon Train" (1958–1962); "General Electric Theater" (1955); "Miracle in the Rain" (1956); "Wide Open Faces" (1938); "An Angel from Texas" (1940); "Brother Rat and a Baby" (1940); "Stage Fright" (1950)

Jane Wyman (born January 5, 1917, St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S.—died September 10, 2007, Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.) was an American actor who had a long, distinguished career in film and television, but was perhaps equally well known as the first wife (1940–48) of former president Ronald Reagan.

Wyman’s father died when she was a small child, and she was placed in the care of neighbours, whose last name she took. Determined to have a career in show business, Wyman moved to California and became a chorus girl. She spent several years as a singer on the radio, appearing in the choruses of movie musicals and in bit parts, and starring in a number of B movies before her portrayal of an alcoholic’s girlfriend in The Lost Weekend (1945) proved to be her breakthrough as a dramatic actress.

After starring in The Yearling (1946), for which she received her first Academy Award nomination, Wyman won the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of a deaf rape victim in Johnny Belinda (1948); she also won Oscar nominations for her roles in The Blue Veil (1951) and Magnificent Obsession (1954). Other notable films included The Glass Menagerie (1950) and All That Heaven Allows (1955).

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

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Wyman then branched out into television with the anthology series Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre (1955–58); she often hosted and starred in various episodes of the show. She semiretired but made a few more motion pictures, including Pollyanna (1960), and occasional guest appearances on television. Wyman returned to prominence and found a new audience with the TV series Falcon Crest (1981–90), in which she starred as the domineering matriarch Angela Channing, owner of a California winery.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.