Jane Powell

Powell lives in Connecticut, USA, with her fifth husband, Dick Moore, and still performs today. Her two children also work in entertainment: Jim Meskimens acting credits include How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Ellen Plummer is a writer/producer on Friends. Her stage roles include "South Pacific", "The Sound of Music", "Oklahoma!", "My Fair Lady", "Carousel", "The Girl Next Door and How She Grew", and "Irene". Ross lives in Los Angeles with actor Paul Michael. Since then Powell has continued to work in television, radio, and live performances. She is also seen frequently on Hollywood Squares, and does voiceovers for Grandma SquarePants on SpongeBob SquarePants. By the end of the 1950s, Hollywood musicals began to lose popularity, and her film career ended. In recent years, she played recurring roles as Drew Carey's mother on The Drew Carey Show and Grandma Forman on That '70s Show.

Her other films include: Rich, Young and Pretty (1951), Small Town Girl (1953), Three Sailors and a Girl (1953), Athena (1954), Deep in My Heart (1954), Hit the Deck (1955), and The Girl Most Likely (1957). Ross has acted on Broadway and in films, but she adores doing TV. Her best know film is probably Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), which gave her the opportunity to play a more mature character than previous films. She played as Marion Cunningham, Ritchie and Joanie's mother. Powell got the chance to sing and dance with Fred Astaire in Royal Wedding (1951), when she was brought in as a replacement for both June Allyson and Judy Garland. Marion Ross' most famous role was in the long-running series Happy Days from 1974 to 1984. Her first MGM musical was Holiday in Mexico (1946), which brought her to the public's attention, and she was later billed as the co-star in several films including A Date With Judy (1948), and Nancy Goes to Rio (1950). Her list of credits spans the history of classic TV, from Burns and Allen Show, Love Boat and Night Court.

She appeared in her first film, Song of the Open Road (1944), at age 15. Her career on television began in 1953 when she played the Irish maid on the series Life With Father for two years. Born Suzanne Burce in Portland, Oregon, USA, she sang on the radio as a child, and performed in theater before her film career began in 1944. A steady stream of film work followed, including parts in The Glenn Miller Story (1954), Sabrina (1954), and Operation Petticoat (1959). She was the petite blonde with an operatic singing voice in many MGM musicals in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1953, Ross made her big-screen debut in Forever Female where she appeared with Ginger Rogers. Jane Powell (born April 1, 1928) is an American actress. The director was impressed by her talent, and recommended that she try for work in Hollywood.

After graduation in 1950, she performed in summer theater in La Jolla, California. Ross was named the school's most outstanding actress. After a year in Minneapolis, where she attended Southwest High School, her family moved to San Diego, California, and Marion enrolled in San Diego State College. After Marion completed her sophomore year in high school, she moved to Minneapolis and took a job as an au pair so she could take drama lessons at the MacPhail Center for the Arts.

At the age of 13, she changed the spelling of her name from "Marian" to "Marion" because she thought it would look better on a marquee. She grew up in Waconia, Willmar and Albert Lea. Marion Ross born October 25, 1928 in Watertown, Minnesota) is an American actress.