Jayne Meadows

Jayne Meadows was an American actress, author, and lecturer who worked in stage, film, and television. Born Jane Cotter in Wuchang, China, in 1919, she grew up in Connecticut. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed her in 1944 and gave her the name Jayne Meadows. She specialized in intense character roles and appeared in films such as Undercurrent (1946), Lady in the Lake (1946), Song of the Thin Man (1947), and David and Bathsheba (1951). Louella Parsons gave her the 1949 Cosmopolitan Award for Finest Dramatic Performance for Enchantment. On television she was a regular panelist on I've Got a Secret and appeared on To Tell the Truth and What's My Line?, and she played Helen Brady on a 1953 episode of Suspense opposite Walter Matthau. She appeared nine times on Meeting of Minds from 1977 to 1981, playing historical figures, and acted in Homicide: Life on the Street in 1998 and Diagnosis: Murder in 1999. She received three Emmy Award nominations.