Wright, Teresa (1918–2005)

American actress. Born Muriel Teresa Wright in Harlem, New York, Oct 27, 1918; died Mar 6, 2005, in New Haven, CT; dau. of Arthur Wright and Martha (Espy) Wright; studied acting at the Wharf Theater, Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1937–38; m. Niven Busch (screenwriter and novelist), 1942 (div. 1952); m. Robert Woodruff Anderson (playwight), 1959 (div.); m. Carlos Pierre (marriage ended); remarried Robert Anderson.

Academy Award-winning actress, best known for her performances in such classics as Shadow of a Doubt and The Little Foxes, enjoyed a film and stage career which spanned 6 decades; replaced Dorothy McGuire in Our Town (1939); landed a role in Broadway production of Life with Father (1939), which ran for 2 years; made film debut in The Little Foxes (1941), for which she was nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress; portrayed Eleanor Gehrig opposite Gary Cooper in The Pride of the Yankees, which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress (1942); appeared with Greer Garson in Mrs. Miniver, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (1942); earned critical praise for performance in The Best Years of Our Lives, but later roles in Hollywood did not enhance her career, possibly because of her tendency to avoid publicity; nominated for Emmy Awards for performances in tv movies "The Miracle Worker" (1957) and "The Margaret Bourke-White Story" (1960); returned to Broadway, most notably in Mary, Mary (1962) and Death of a Salesman (1975); earned 3rd Emmy nomination for an episode of "Dolphin Cove" (1989); other films include Casanova Brown (1944), The Men (1950), Track of the Cat (1954), The Search for Bridey Murphy (1956), Roseland (1977), Somewhere in Time (1979) and The Good Mother (1988).

See also Women in World History.