Her husband, Niven Busch, originally penned Duel in the Sun (1946) for her to play the lead, as a departure from her girl-next-door roles. But pregnancy forced her to drop out, and Jennifer Jones got the lead.

She is one of the elite ten thespians to have been nominated for both a Supporting and Lead Acting Academy Award in the same year for their achievements in two different movies. The other nine are Fay Bainter, Barry Fitzgerald (he has been nominated in both categories for the same role in the same movie), Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, Al Pacino, Emma Thompson, Holly Hunter, Julianne Moore and Jamie Foxx.

Her son was born in December, 1944, weighing 7 lbs., 4 oz. Daughter Mary Kelly Busch was born in September, 1947, weighing 5 lbs., 3 oz.

Was the only actor ever to be nominated for an Oscar for her first three films.

Grandmother of Jonah Smith.

She has two grandchildren.

Samuel Goldwyn discovered her on Broadway in the hit play "Life with Father" and invited her to Hollywood to play Alexandra, the daughter of Bette Davis's character in The Little Foxes (1941).

She was originally set to star in producer David O. Selznick's Duel in the Sun (1946), which was written by her then-husband, Niven Busch. However, shortly before filming was to begin she got pregnant, and Busch had to go to Selznick's office to inform him that she would have to bow out of the film. Selznick, known for his single-mindedness, tried to talk Busch into letting her play the part, which called for a lot of physical action, and Bush absolutely refused. As he turned to leave the office, Selznick blurted out, "Dammit, Busch, she isn't the only one you screwed!"

In honor of her heartfelt performance in The Pride of the Yankees (1942), when Teresa Wright died in 2005, when the roll call of former Yankees who had passed on was announced, her name was read out among all the ballplayers.

In Italy, she was often dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta. Occasionally, she was also dubbed by Rina Morelli, most notably in the The Little Foxes (1941); Dhia Cristiani and once by Paola Barbara in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943).

For many years Wright maintained a residence in the bucolic Litchfield County town of Bridgewater, Connecticut.

Personal Quotes

"I only ever wanted to be an actress, not a star."