Ann Harding (August 7, 1901 - September 1, 1981) was an American actress. Born Dorothy Walton Gatley in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, the daughter of a career army officer, she traveled often during her early life. The family finally settled in New York, and young Dorothy attended Bryn Mawr College.
Following school, she got a job as a script reader, and began acting on Broadway. In 1929 she made her film debut in Paris Bound, opposite Fredric March. In 1931 she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Holiday.
Under contract with RKO studio, Harding co-starred with such luminaries as Ronald Colman, Myrna Loy, Leslie Howard, and Gary Cooper, often on loan out to other studios, such as MGM and Paramount. Her performances were often heralded by the critics, who cited her diction and stage experience as assets to the screen, and she became one of Hollywood's highest salaried stars. Her films during her peak include "The Animal Kingdom," "Peter Ibbetson," "When Ladies Meet," "The Flame Within," and "Biography of a Bachelor Girl."
However, Harding became stereotyped as the innocent young woman willing to sacrifice herself for others, and she eventually quit making movies when she married in 1937, although she was lured back in 1942 to make Eyes in the Night. In 1956 she again starred with Fredric March in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.
