Ann Blyth, Oscar-nominated actress, dies at 98

Ann Blyth, the Oscar-nominated actress and singer who rose to fame as the scheming daughter Veda in the classic 1945 film Mildred Pierce, died on Wednesday, June 24. She was 98. Her death, from natural causes, was reported by KABC's George Pennacchio. Blyth passed away less than two months before her 99th birthday.

Her performance in Mildred Pierce opposite Joan Crawford earned the 16-year-old Blyth an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The film, which won Crawford the Oscar for Best Actress, became a defining role for Blyth and launched her into a career spanning more than seven decades across film, television, and stage.

Born on August 16, 1927, in Mount Kisco, New York, Blyth began performing on children's radio shows at age six. She made her Broadway debut at 12 in Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine in 1941, which led to a film contract with Universal Studios. Her early film roles were primarily in musicals, showcasing her soprano voice. Following Mildred Pierce, she appeared in a range of genres, including the prison drama Brute Force (1947) with Burt Lancaster, the fantasy Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), and a series of MGM musicals such as The...