Born in Fort Worth, TX; educated at Northwestern and the Pasadena Playhouse. She was 11 when she first appeared in a film entitled THUNDER MOUNTAIN in 1935. For the next eleven years she would go back to the important task of growing up. Once she finished her formal schooling, Hyer played a bit role in 1946's THE LOCKET. Slowly, she began picking up roles with more and more substance. The best years for the beautiful actress began in 1954 when she played in films such as DOWN THREE DARK STREETS (1954), SHOWDOWN AT ABILENE (1956), and BATTLE HYMN (1957). Perhaps the best role of her long career was as Gwen French in 1958's SOME CAME RUNNING in which she starred opposite Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Shirley MacLaine. As a result of her stellar role, she received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress, but she lost out to Wendy Hiller in SEPARATE TABLES. Afterwards her stint on the US silver screens trailed off. She did made a handful of foreign films, returning to appear in the US from time to time, but nothing compared to the pace she had in the 1950s. Her last screen role was in 1973 in the film DAY OF THE WOLVES. Her first husband (1951-1954) was writer-producer-director C. Ray Stahl. In 1966 she married producer Hal B.Wallis and remained with him until his death in 1986.  Nominated for Supporting Actress 1958: SOME CAME RUNNING 1 nomination