Eleanor Jean Parker (June 26, 1922 – December 9, 2013) was an American actress who appeared in some 80 movies and television series. An actress of notable versatility, she was called Woman of a Thousand Faces by Doug McClelland, author of a biography of Parker by the same title.

At the age of 18, Parker was signed by Warner Brothers in 1941. She was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress in the 1950s, for Caged (1950), Detective Story (1951) and Interrupted Melody (1955). Her role in Caged also won her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. One of her most memorable roles was that of Elsa von Schraeder in the 1965 musical The Sound of Music.

Biography

Parker was married four times:


Fred Losee — married in 1943, divorced in 1944.
Bert E. Friedlob — married in 1946, divorced in 1953; the marriage produced three children.
Paul Clemens, American portrait painter — married in 1954, divorced in 1965; the marriage produced one child, actor Paul Clemens.
Raymond N. Hirsch — married in 1966, widowed on September 14, 2001 when Hirsch died of esophageal cancer.
She was the grandmother of one-time child actor Chase Parker

Best films