Ruth Hussey

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Actress Born Ruth Carol Hussey on Oct. 30, 1911 in Providence, RI

Ruth Hussey was best known for her Oscar-nominated role as James Stewart's sassy photographer girlfriend in the classic 1940 film "The Philadelphia Story."

She began her career as a fashion commentator on local radio and later was a model in New York for the famed Powers agency.

Her first film was an uncredited role in "The Big City" in 1937, starring Spencer Tracy; in 1940 she was Tracy's leading lady in "Northwest Passage."

She also starred opposite Robert Taylor in "Flight Command" (1940), Melvyn Douglas in "Our Wife" (1941), Van Heflin in "Tennessee Johnson" (1943), Ray Milland in "The Uninvited" (1944) and John Carroll in "Bedside Manner" (1945).

In 1945, Hussey appeared on Broadway, starring in the successful "State of the Union" as the wife of a presidential candidate, Ralph Bellamy. She was on Broadway in 1949 in the hit comedy "Goodbye, My Fancy," and she toured with "The Royal Family of Broadway."

Her later movies included "I, Jane Doe" (1948), the 1949 remake of "The Great Gatsby" and "Stars and Stripes Forever" (1952). Her last feature film role was in 1960 in "The Facts of Life," playing Bob Hope's wife.

Hussey later moved into television, including guest appearances in "The Magnificent Ambersons" and "Time Out for Ginger."

But for many film fans, she will always be Elizabeth "Liz" Imbrie, the saucy journalist who works with reporter Mike Connor (Stewart) to cover the forthcoming wedding of socialite Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) in George Cukor's "The Philadelphia Story."

— Claudia Luther in the Los Angeles Times April 21, 2005

Related

• Ruth Hussey, 93; Oscar Nominee for Her Role in 'Philadelphia Story'