Raised in a strict Irish-American Catholic family in Troy, New York, she moved to New York City at eighteen, taking jobs as a salesgirl, hotel clerk and model before debuting on Broadway in 1946 with The Playboy of the Western World. Her stage work quickly earned acclaim, culminating in Tony Awards for The Rose Tattoo (1951) and The Gingerbread Lady (1971), and additional nominations for productio…
