The petite soprano was one of MGM Studios top sopranos of the 1940s & 1950s. She started out with dreams of being in opera, but MGM scooped her up to be in films. Some consider her role as Lili Vanessi in Kiss Me, Kate as her best. She also played Magnolia in the 1951 version of Show Boat. She left the movies in 1956 for the stage and fulfilled her dream of being in opera. She was nominated for an Emmy in 1955 for her performance as a blind girl in General Electric Theater's Shadow On The Heart.