Frieda Inescort

Tall, dark and regal Frieda Inescort's placid loveliness and dignified patrician features boded her well in Hollywood during the late 1930s and 1940s. Born on June 29, 1901 in Edinburgh, the Scots-born actress who began acting on stage, did not arrive in Hollywood until age 34 (then considered too late for leading lady roles) but managed to settle fairly comfortably on the supporting sidelines in chic melodramas and tearjerkers. Born Frieda Rowell Wightman, she was the daughter of Scots-born journalist John "Jock" Wightman and actress Elaine Inescourt, who was of German and Polish descent. Her parents initially met when her father came to review a play her mother was appearing in. They married in 1899 but eventually parted ways while Frieda was still young. Her impulsive mother, who had strong designs on a theater career and placed it high on her priority list, sent young Frieda off to live with other families and in boarding schools in England and Wales while she avidly pursued her d