Mary Ann Mobley Biography

Fast Facts

• Won an Outstanding Woman of the Year Award, presented to her by Lady Bird Johnson, in 1966
• Was a supporter of charitable organizations like the March of Dimes, the National Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, and the National Council on Disability
• Was crowned Miss America in 1959, becoming the first woman from Mississippi to receive the honor
• Graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1958 and became the first woman to be inducted into the school's Alumni Hall of Fame in 1981
• Married late actor and TV host Gary Collins in 1967, with whom she co-hosted the 1989 Miss America pageant
• Began her acting career on stage, appearing in a Broadway production of "Nowhere to Go But Up" in 1962 and a Los Angeles production of "Guys and Dolls․"
• Best known as a former Miss America and actress who appeared in the Elvis Presley films "Harum Scarum" and "Girl Happy․"
• Was the first choice to play Batgirl, a role that later went to Yvonne Craig, in the "Batman" spinoff in the 1960s