BIO

Jane Darwell was born Patti Woodard in Palmyra, Missouri, in 1879.   Her father was head of the local railroad.   She originally intended to become a circus performer, however her family objected and she compromised by becoming an actress.

She began her acting career in theater productions in Chicago and made her Broadway debut in 1909, at the age of 30.   She appeared in another 3 productions through 1944.

In 1913, she made her first film appearance for Bison Motion Pictures, a film production company run by producer/director Thomas H. Ince.   She appeared in almost twenty films over the next two years before returning to the stage.   After a 15 year absence from films, Darwell resumed her film career in 1930.

She received an Oscar for Actress in a Supporting Role as "Ma Joad" in The Grapes of Wrath (1940), a role she was given with the backing of the film's star Henry Fonda.   A contract player with 20th Century-Fox, Darwell occasionally starred in "B" movies and played featured parts in many major films.   By the end of her career in 1964 she had appeared in more than 170 motion pictures.

Darwell died from a heart attack in Los Angeles, at the age of 88, in 1967.

Additional Broadway stage history is available at:

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS