Frances Bavier Biography

Fast Facts

• Graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1925
• After a long battle with cancer and heart disease, she passed away at 86-years-old at her home in North Carolina in 1989
• Initially a Broadway performer, she would make her debut at 23-years-old before traveling the globe as an entertainer of troops during WWII before returning to New York
• After a three-decade career on Broadway, she would transition to film and television by the early '50s with several supporting roles before earning her most well-known credit to date as Aunt Bea on "The Andy Griffith Show" in 1960
• Her love of Studebaker automobiles was well-known, as she owned one of the maker's last models made in the mid-60s and was a member of the Studebaker Drivers Club
• After working in North Carolina for several years, she decided to retire there in the mid-70s, stating "I fell in love with the state and all the pretty roads and trees․"
• Often remembered as temperamental and difficult to work with on "The Andy Griffith Show" as she felt her dramatic acting chops were not being properly utilized