Born Thelma Booth Ford in New York City. In amateur plays from the age of 12, she made her first professional appearance in 1923 in The Cat and the Canary in Hartford, Conn., and her Broadway debut in 1925 in a supporting role in Hell's Bells, alongside another newcomer, Humphrey Bogart. It was 10 years before she was cast in her first important Broadway role, in Three Men on a Horse. A leading part in My Sister Eileen (1940) and a successful radio career were then followed by her biggest Broadway triumph, the role of frowzy Lola Delaney in William Inge's Come Back, Little Sheba (1950), for which she won the Tony Award and the New York Drama Critics Award. She repeated her triumph in the screen version of the same play, winning the Academy Award, the New York Film Critics Award, and the Cannes Festival acting award. She subsequently appeared in several other films, most notably in the role of Dolly Levi in THE MATCHMAKER (1958) (the comedy on which the musical Hello, Dolly! was later based). She achieved wide popularity playing the title role in the TV series "Hazel."  Actress 1952: COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA 1 nomination, 1 Award