Early life

Eleanor Parker was born in 1922 in Ohio where she grew up and went to school. Her dream had always been to become an actress. Parker appeared in many school plays. After finishing school, she soon moved to Pasadena, California to actively pursue an acting career.

Career

Shortly after arriving in California, Eleanor Parker was spotted by a talent scout and in 1941 signed a longterm contract with Warner Bros. Throughout the early 1940s, Parker played various supporting roles in B movies and continuously receiving more prestigious roles. Parker later called her role in Pride of the Marines (1946) the "big break" of her career.

Parker was suspended several times by Warner Bros for refusing to play certain roles.In 1950, she received several award nominations, including for the Academy Award, for Caged. Shortly after, Parker signed an contract with the studio Paramount, then MGM. In the following years, Parker gained roles in many films and nominations for Awards, becoming one of the great names in Hollywood.

In the early 1960s, Parker began to work more in television than film. Her arguably best known movie role came in 1965, when she played Baroness Schraeder in The Sound of Music. She continued to work in film, television and on the stage throughout the 70s and 80s.

Personal life

Eleanor Parker was married four times and had four children.She was raised protestant but later converted to Judaism.

Parker died at the age of 91 on 9 December 2013.