Born in McKeesport, PA; educated at Erasmus Hall and Barnard College and trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York.. The daughter of a broker-turned-magazine-editor, she was raised in New York City and made her stage debut at the Neighborhood Playhouse shortly after graduating from college. In Hollywood from the early 1930s, she played soulful, melancholy leads and supporting roles in many films. She was nominated for an Oscar® for her supporting role in DRAGON SEED (1944). Her sad face and eyes were tailor-made for dramas, but she also performed effectively in a number of comic roles. Married for 47 Years to Clarence S. Stein, an architect and major proponent of the "garden city" using greenbelts. Stein assisted in the planning of the 1915 World's Fair in San Diego and was known as the Architect of the Planned Community. Visit the Internet Movie Database to view MacMahon's film and television credits.  Nominated for Supporting Actress 1944: DRAGON SEED 1 nomination