Actress. She is best remembered for her portrayal of the timid Mrs. O'Brien in the cult classic "The House in Marsh Road" (1960). After immigrating to the United States in the mid-1920s, she began her career as a leading lady on the Broadway stage. Upon being introduced to director Edwin Greenwood during a dinner party at the home of Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne, he was so impressed by her poise, Irish charm, and professionalism, that he took notice of her potential and arranged for her to begin a career in the film industry beginning with her appearing under a supporting role per his supervision in "What Money Can Buy" (1928). From there, she would go on to flourish has a notable character actress appearing in 120 features; often typecast as wives, mothers, grandmothers, old maids, eccentrics, curmudgeons, landladies, wealthy dowagers, housekeepers, busybodies, educators, nurses, secretaries, manicurists, madams, retail clerks, businesswomen, telephone operators, nannies, stewardesses, and matriarchs. She appeared in such feature films as "S.O.S." (1928), "Would You Believe It!" (1929), "The Bill" (1931), "The Temperence Fete" (1932), "When Thief Meets a Thief" (1937), "Gold Mine in the Sky" (1938), "Dangerous Masquerade" (1939), "Saboteur" (1942), "London Blackout Murders" (1943), "The Lodger" (1944), "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1945), "Dressed to Kill" (1946), "The Two Mrs. Carrolls" (1947), "The Woman in White" (1948), "Saints and Sinners" (1949), "Waterfront" (1950), "Talk of a Million" (1951), "Botany Bay" (1952), "Raising a Riot" (1955), "Tears for Simon" (1956), "The Rising of the Moon" (1957), "Stormy Crossing" (1958), "The Man Who Liked Funerals" (1959), "School for Scoundrels" (1960), "Payroll" (1961), "On the Beat" (1962), "The List of Adrian Messenger" (1963), "Father Came Too!" (1964), "Promise Her Anything" (1966), "Craze" (1974), and "Jabberwocky" (1977). On television, she became an even more familiar face appearing in various guest spots on such syndicated sitcoms as "Little Woman," "Hallmark Hall of Fame," "The Philico Television Playhouse," "Robert Montgomery Presents," "Let's Stay Home," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "Hour of Mystery," "Educated Evans," "Armchair Theatre," "Probation Officer," "The Saint," "Call Oxbridge 2000," "Festival," "The Human Jungle," "Dark Shadows," "Court Martial," "Happy Ever After," and "The Chiffy Kids." During her career, she held dual citizenship between the United States and Ireland, had been a member of the Screen Actors Guild, was supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, had been a regular parishioner of the Presbyterian church, was a member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee, presided as a chairwoman for her local charters of the American Red Cross and the Boys & Girls Clubs, had been a theatrical instructor for the Pasadena Playhouse, was cited per gossip columnist Hedda Hopper as "one of the most riveting human gargoyles in Hollywood films," and she was married to Penguin Books Publicist Jacob Schwartz (their union produced no children). Upon her 1978 retirement, she spent the final years of her being involved in charitable and religious ventures, until her death.