Nancy Olson

Milwaukee-born Nancy Ann Olson was the daughter of Henry, a physician, and Evelyn Olson, and educated at the University of Wisconsin. Discovered on stage after transferring to California's UCLA, the pretty, peaches-and-cream blonde was quickly signed by Paramount Studios in 1948 and almost immediately handed co-starring parts after an uncredited bit part in Portrait of Jennie (1948). After playing in the film Canadian Pacific (1949), Olson went on to win the role of script girl Betty Schaefer, who attracts never-do-well screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) and irks the reclusive and increasingly deranged former film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) in the towering classic Sunset Blvd. (1950). Olson received an Oscar nomination for "Best Supporting Actress" for her role. Her pairing with Holden, in fact, went over so well, they were teamed in a succession of standard features: Union Station (1950), Force of Arms (1951), and Submarine Command (1951), none holding a candle to thei