Actress. She was best known for playing the roles of majors, mothers, boarding house employees, nannies, aunts, wives, nuns, and historical figures including Queen Elizabeth I of England. She will be best remembered for playing the role of 'Mrs. Grey in the cult classic horror film, "The Changeling" (1980). The film which was directed by Peter Medak and stars George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, John Colicos, and Melvyn Douglas, tells the story of a music professor and composer who after the death of his wife and daughter in a car crash, is staying at an old mansion and while there is dragged into a decades-old mystery by an inexplicable presence in the mansion's attic. The horror film was based on actual paranormal events that musician and writer Russell Hunter had experienced at a house in Denver, Colorado, that he was living in during the late 1960s. She will is also best remembered for playing the role of 'Mrs. Patterson' in the cult classic horror mystery thriller film, "Happy Birthday To Me" (1981). The film which was directed by J. Lee Thompson, which was directed by John C.W. Saxton, Peter Jobin, and Timothy Rand, and which also starred Melissa Sue Anderson, Gleen Ford, Lawrence Dane, Jack Blum, and Sharon Acker, tells the story of at the snobby Crawford Academy, Virginia's group of friends start to go missing years after horrible events that happened to her as a child around her birthday. She will be also remembered for playing the role of 'Sadie' on the long-running classic Canadian television series, "The Beachcombers," in four episodes on the CBC (or Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), from 1973 to 1980. On "The Beachcombers," television series (which was arguably the most successful CBC Television drama of all time. It was the longest-running series in Canadian television history at one time before it was surpassed by the "Degrassi," television school series and was translated into five other languages, and shown in 37 different countries). The adventures series which focused on the lives of professional lumber salvagers, owners of the local Molly's Reach Cafe, and other friends including a local police officer living in Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada, also starred Bruno Gerussi, Rae Brown, Robert Clothier, Joe Austin, Charlene Aleck, and Jackson Davies. She was born as Frances Jean Hyland in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, Canada, to Thomas Jay Hyland (1896-1977), a salesman, and his wife Jessie May Worden Hyland (1903-1975), a teacher on April 25, 1927. Her parents later split up when she was still a child and she never saw her father ever again. This led to her being shy and withdrawn growing up possibly because of her father's absence. She was educated locally and grew up in Ogema, Saskatchewan, and Regina, Saskatchewan, later attended and studied at the prestigious University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, beginning in the fall of 1944, and where she received a BA or Bachelor of Arts in English, was the first Canadian institution of higher learning to establish a department of Drama. She also earned a scholarship to and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England. She was then given acting lessons and elocution lessons, which is the skill of clear and expressive speech, especially of distinct pronunciation and articulation. She made her initial debut on the stage, and then went on and appeared in films and on television. She made her television debut playing the role of 'Genevra Langdon' in the episode entitled, "Deep Are The Roots," of the television series drama, "BBC Sunday-Night Theatre," which originally aired on May 7, 1950, and which also starred Gordon Heath, Finlay Currie, Joyce Heron, Patrick Barr, Launce Maraschal, and John Salew. In addition, she also played in three more episodes of this television series, as 'Penelope Blessington' in "Adam's Apple," which originally aired on November 30, 1952, and as 'Sonia' in "Crime And Punishment," which originally aired on November 29, 1953, and as 'Megan Owen' in "The Gift," which originally aired on January 3, 1954. Besides, playing the role of 'Mrs. Grey in the cult classic horror film, "The Changeling" (1980), and playing the role of 'Mrs. Patterson' in the cult classic horror mystery thriller film, "Happy Birthday To Me" (1981), her man other film credits include, "Twelfth Night" (1958), "Salt Of The Earth" (1961), "Cattle Ranch" (1961, She was the narrator for the documentary film), "The Test" (1961, she was the narrator for the documentary film), "Drylanders" (1962), "Each Day That Comes" (1966), "Centre For The Performing Arts No. 2" (1969, She was featured as 'Rita Joe' in the film and she was the narrator for the documentary film), "Another Smith For Paradise" (1972), "Drylanders Episode 1" (1974), "Home To Stay" (1978), "Hounds Of Notre Dame" (1980), "Tales Of The Haunted" (1981), "Pygmalion" (1983), "The Hearst And Davies Affair" (1985), "The Sight" (1985), "Return To Dresden" (1986, She was the narrator for the documentary film), "Liberace: Behind The Music" (1988), "Lonely Knights" (1988), Glory! Glory! (1989), "Survive The Night" (1993), "The Lotus Eaters" (1993), "Broken Lullaby" (1994), "When The Dark Man Calls" (1995), "Never Talk To Strangers" (1995), "Lives Of Girls & Women" (1996), "A Prayer In The Dark" (1997), and "I'll Be Home For Christmas" (1997). Besides, playing the role of 'Genevra Langdon' of the episode entitled, "Deep Are The Roots," of the television series drama, "BBC Sunday-Night Theatre," which originally aired on May 7, 1950, and which also starred Gordon Heath, Finlay Currie, Joyce Heron, Patrick Barr, Launce Maraschal, and John Salew, and playing in three more episodes of this television series, as 'Penelope Blessington' in "Adam's Apple," which originally aired on November 30, 1952, as 'Sonia' in "Crime And Punishment," which originally aired on November 29, 1953, and as 'Megan Owen' in "The Gift," which originally aired on January 3, 1954, and playing the role of 'Sadie' on the long-running classic Canadian television series, "The Beachcombers," in four episodes on the CBC (or Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), from 1973 to 1980, her many other television credits include, "Playbill," "Scope," "On Camera," "First Performance," "Folio," "Hudson's Bay," "The Unforeseen," "R.C.M.P." "Suspense," "Startime," "Encounter," "First Person," "Q for Quest," "Shoestring Theatre," "Quest," "Playdate," "Festival," "The Mystery Maker," "McQueen," "The Naked Mine," "The Great Detective," "The Albertans," "Titans," "Kay O'Brien," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "The Twilight Zone," "Night Heat," "E.N.G." "The Hidden Room," "Street Legal," "Tales From The Cryptkeeper," "Lonesome Dove: The Series," "Avonlea," "Due South," "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues," and "PSI Factor: Chronicles Of The Paranormal." During fifty year acting career she also appeared on the stage in Canada, England, and the United States. She appeared in England in the stage productions of such plays, as 'Stella Kowalski' in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (October 1, 1949-), at the Aldwych Theatre in London, England, as 'Perdita' in "The Winter's Tale" (June 17, 1951, to January 5, 1952), at the Phoenix Theatre in London, England, and as 'Gelda' in "The Dark Is Light Enough" (February 22, 1954, to December 4, 1954), through Tennent Productions Ltd. at the Aldwych Theatre in London, England, and at the Alexandra Theatre in London, England. She also appeared in the stage production of the play, "The Step Forward," at the Golders Green Hippodrome Theatre in Golders Green, London, England. She also appeared on Broadway in New York City, New York, in the stage productions of such plays, as 'Laura James' in "Look Homeward, Angel" (November 28, 1957, to April 04, 1959), and as 'Young Actress, later Pip' in "Moby Dick" (November 28, 1962, December 08, 1962). In her native Canada, she started in scores of plays and directed several others starring and directing as a host of the Stratford Festival Theatre in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, and the Shaw Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, including, as 'Isabella' in "Measure For Measure," as 'Portia' in "The Merchant Of Venice," as 'Olivia' in "Twelfth Night," 'Perdita' in "The Winter's Tale,", 'Desdemona' in "Othello," as 'Ophelia' in "Hamlet." She directed the Stratford Festival Theatre's stage production of the play, "Othello" (1979). During her time on the stage, she worked with the likes of Sheila Keith, Alexis France, Guy Rolfe, Gillian Lind, Derek Farr, Edith Evans, James Donald, John Moffatt, Hugh Griffith, Peter Bull, Peter Barkworth, John Shea, and directors William Woodman and Peter Brook. Her last film role was playing 'Nuala Moore' in the crime mystery film drama, "Moonlight Becomes You" (1998). The film which was directed by Bill Corcoran, which was written for the screen by David J, Kinghorn, which was based on the novel by Mary Higgins Clark, and which also starred Donna Mills, David Beecroft, and Winston Rekert, tells the story of while as a party Maggie Holloway, a photographer, is delighted to see again her mother in law after such a long time. Shortly after, the old lady is found murdered. Maggie Holloway then decides to investigate strange incidents surrounding a retirement home. However, she was also the narrator for the documentary film, "Glitter Palace" (2002). She continued to act and entertain until her death. She passed away from respiratory failure in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 11, 2004, at the age of 77. Following her death, she was cremated and her ashes were given to her family members. For her services to drama in Canada, she was awarded the O.C. or Officer of the Order of Canada on December 18, 1970. She was also nominated for a 1974 Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actress in a Principal Role for her performance in "Freedom Of The City," at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, and she was awarded the 1977 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actress in a Principal Role in a Play for "Long Day's Journey Into Night" at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. She was also the recipient of the Governor General's Performing Arts Award in 1994. She was married to actor, film producer, screenwriter, and composer George Edward McGowan (1927-1995), in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 12, 1955, and they were together until they divorced sometime in 1964. The couple had one child together, a son named Evan McCowan who was born in 1957.