Actress. She is best remembered for her portrayal of sultry taxi driver in the film noir classic "The Big Sleep" (1946). Born Dorothy Thompson, she was raised within a traditional working-class family the only daughter of a foreman and a housewife. Following the completion of her public education, she began her career as a leading lady on the stage in little theatres and stock companies. Upon being discovered per a talent scout she was brought out to California to undergo a series of vocal and wardrobe tests. Following review of her footage per director LeRoy Prinz he was so impressed by her hourglass figure, dark good looks, and simple charm that upon taking notice of her potential he arranged for her to begin a career in the film industry beginning with her appearing under his supervision per a supporting role in "Bob Willis and His Texas Playboys" (1944). From there, she would go on to flourish as a notable character actress appearing in 19 feature films. Often typecast as love interests, femme fatales, gold diggers, chorines, white-collared workers, alluring nurses and secretaries, gangster molls, faithful sidekicks, cowgirls, glamour dolls, exotics, and women with a past. She appeared in such feature films as "To Have and Have Not" (1944), "Earl Carroll Vanities" (1945), "The Horn Blows at Midnight" (1945), "Where Do We Go from Here?" (1945), "George White's Scandals" (1945), "Don't Fence Me In" (1945), "Cinderella Jones" (1946), "The Trespasser" (1947), "Blackmail" (1947), "Two Guys from Texas" (1948), "The Decision of Christopher Blake" (1948), "Look for the Silver Lining" (1949), and "Just Across the Street" (1952). During her career, she was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, was a member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee, had been a regular parishioner of the Lutheran church, was courted by such leading men as Dick Purcell and Curly Richards, was a commercial model for the Ford Agency, had been designated as the Miss Goodrich Seal-O-Matic Safety Tube of 1945, had been cited per gossip columnist Louella Parsons as "Minnesota's Most Marvelous Fireball", was a part of the ensemble of the prestigious Earl Carroll's Vanities, had been a popular cheesecake model among G.I.'s, and she was married to Navy seal Herbert Ahrens and later to restaurateur Bill Story (both marriages ended in divorce and produced no children). Following her withdrawal from acting in 1952, she spent the remainder of her life working a traditional clerical position for a local Allstate Insurance agency and devoting her time to charitable and religious causes until her official retirement. She died from complications of a stroke prior to her 72nd birthday.