She was the epitome of the "Jewish mother" in films and surprisingly she was not even Jewish. She was an average looking middle-aged woman, with short hair, quizzical eyes and a gravelly, whiny voice. She was adept at playing it sarcastic, prudent and sympathetic. She was born Maggie O'Regin in New York City of Irish stock. Her parents died when she was 15 and after graduation from Morris high school in New York she moved to Hollywood to aim for a film acting career. She developed a nightclub act with which she toured the country. Years later she returned to New York for her stage debut in Paint Your Wagon in 1951. She also appeared on Broadway in the original productions of Bye Bye, Birdie (1960) and Funny Girl (1964). She had been a bit player at M-G-M during the 1940s. She then moved into featured roles in the mid-1950s in such films as A FACE IN THE CROWD (1957), BUTTERFIELD 8 (1960), ENSIGN PULVER (1964) and A FINE MADNESS (1966). Her best-known role is probably Rose Brice in FUNNY GIRL (1968), which earned her an Oscar® nomination. Other notable film credits include LOLA (1969) as Scott's Mother; ANGEL IN MY POCKET (1969) as Racine; FIRE SALE (1977) as Ruth and WINDOWS (1980) as Ida Marx, her final film. On TV she was a regular on the series: "Kitty Foyle" (1958) as Sophie Foyle; "To Rome with Love" (1969-70) as Aunt Harriet and "The Dean Martin Show" aka "The Dean Martin Comedy Hour" (1970-73) as a Regular. She also appeared in the TV movies: "But I Don't Want to Get Married!" (1970); "No Place to Run" (1972) and "More Than Friends" (1979). She also guest starred on many series including: "The Philco Television Playhouse"; "Ben Casey"; "Love, American Style"; "The Partridge Family"; "Medical Center"; "Starsky and Hutch" and "Barney Miller." She died of cancer on April 10, 1980 at her home in Manhattan.  Nominated for Supporting Actress 1968: FUNNY GIRL 1 nomination