Brenda Marshall (born Ardis Ankerson; September 29, 1915Some question exists regarding the exact date of her birth. An article in the December 31, 1939, issue of the ''

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'' says that she was born November 29, 1915. – July 30, 1992) was an American film actress.

Career

Marshall made her first film appearance as Ardis Gaines in ''Wives of Tomorrow'' (1937). Her initial billing as Brenda Marshall came in '' Espionage Agent'' (1939). The following year, she played the leading lady to

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...

in '' The Sea Hawk''. After divorcing actor Richard Gaines in 1940, she married

William Holden William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...

in 1941, and her own career soon slowed. She starred opposite

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

in '' Captains of the Clouds'' (1942). Marshall appeared in '' The Constant Nymph'' (1943), but she virtually retired after this, appearing in only four more films, including the Western '' Whispering Smith'' (1948). She also played scientist Nora Goodrich in the B picture cult film '' Strange Impersonation'' (1946). In 1955, five years after her last film role, she made an appearance as herself (billed as Mrs. William Holden) in the fourth-season episode of ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'' titled "The Fashion Show".

Personal life

Marshall was born as Ardis Ankerson in the island of

Negros Negros (, , ) is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral Tr ...

, in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

to Swedish parents. She did not use her stage name off set. She was one of two daughters of Otto Peter Ankerson, overseer of a large

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

plantation near

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...

. Her mother died in 1925 when she was young, so Ardis, along with her older sister Ruth, attended grammar school and began high school studies as boarding students at the Brent School in

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

. In the early 1930s, the girls were sent to

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, to complete high school. She attended Texas State College for Women in her freshman and sophomore years, 1933–1935, and was named the Freshman Class Beauty in 1934, chosen by modern dancer Ted Shawn. William-Holden-Brenda-Marshall-1

She married the actor Richard Gaines in 1936, and they had one daughter, Virginia Gaines (born November 17, 1937); the couple divorced in 1940. In 1941, Marshall married actor William Holden, who adopted Virginia, and Marshall and Holden had two sons together, Peter Westfield "West" Holden (1943–2014) and Scott Porter Holden (1946–2005). After several separations, Marshall and Holden were divorced in 1971. Marshall moved to

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

in 1971. She died in 1992 from

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

in Palm Springs, aged 76.

Filmography

References

Sources

* * Gaines, Virginia Holden. ''Growing Up with William Holden: A Memoir'' (Strategems, 2007)

External links

*
Photographs and literature

Image of William Holden and Brenda Marshall, Academy Awards, Los Angeles, 1951.

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections,

Charles E. Young Research Library The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. It initially opened in 1964, and a second phase of construction was completed ...

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Brenda 1915 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American actresses American film actresses American people of Swedish descent Actresses from San Antonio Actresses from Palm Springs, California Deaths from throat cancer in California Filipino emigrants to the United States