Jane Darwell Biography

Fast Facts

• Took voice, piano, and dramatics lessons before she began acting professionally on stages in Chicago
• Made her screen acting debut in the short film "The Capture of Aguinaldo" in 1913
• Appeared in classic films like "Gone with the Wind," in which she played Mrs․ Merriwether, and "Mary Poppins," in which she played The Bird Woman
• Best known for her role as Ma Joad in the 1940 film adaptation of "The Grapes of Wrath․"
• Appeared in more than 200 films and TV series over the course of her 50-year career
• Appeared as a grandmother or housekeeper in a number of Shirley Temple films
• Changed her name to Jane Darwell when she made the decision to become an opera singer, since her father didn't approve and didn't want her to "sully the family name․"
• Was a guest star on "Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town" in 1951