Audrey Totter

Audrey Mary Totter (December 20, 1917 – December 12, 2013) was an American actress and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player.

Family

Audrey (some sources indicate "Audra") Mary Totter was born in 1917 and raised in Joliet, Illinois. Her parents were John (born in Slovenia with birth name Janez) and Ida Mae Totter. Her father was of Austro-Slovenian descent and her mother was Swedish American. She had two brothers, Folger and George, and a sister, Collette.

Early years

A native of Joliet, Illinois, Totter graduated from Joliet High School, where she "acted in a number of school dramas."

Radio

Totter began her acting career in radio in Chicago in the late 1930s. She played in soap operas, including Painted Dreams, Road of Life, Ma Perkins, and Bright Horizons.

Film

Following success in Chicago and New York, Totter was signed to a seven-year film contract with MGM. She made her film debut in Main Street After Dark (1945) and established herself as a popular female lead in the 1940s. Although she appeared in various film genres, she became most widely known to movie audiences in film noir productions.