{"id":2478175,"date":"2026-06-27T10:39:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T10:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2478175"},"modified":"2026-06-27T10:39:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T10:39:51","slug":"ann-blyth-teen-star-of-mildred-pierce-dead-at-98","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/ann-blyth-teen-star-of-mildred-pierce-dead-at-98\/","title":{"rendered":"Ann Blyth, teen star of \u2018Mildred Pierce,\u2019 dead at 98"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By BOB THOMAS<\/strong><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Ann Blyth, a versatile Hollywood star who received an Oscar nomination<\/a> at 17 as Joan Crawford\u2019s wayward daughter in \u201cMildred Pierce,\u201d sang opposite Mario Lanza and Howard Keel in such MGM musicals as \u201dThe Great Caruso\u201d and ended her film career before age 30, has died at age 98.<\/p>\n

Blyth died Wednesday of \u201cnatural causes\u201d at her home in Rancho Santa Fe, California, according to her daughter, Eileen McNulty. Blyth\u2019s family was at her side.<\/p>\n

One of the last surviving actors from the Hollywood studio system, Blyth appeared in youth movies as well as dramas such as \u201cAnother Part of the Forest,\u201d and her co-stars included Bing Crosby, Power, Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. Blyth had stopped appearing in films by the end of the 1950s when she chose to spend more time with her children. But she would work in TV musicals and dramas and tour in concerts and musicals from \u201cShow Boat\u201d to \u201cThe Sound of Music.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was acting and singing from an early age and her first big break came at 13 when she was cast as Paul Lukas\u2019s daughter in Lillian Hellman\u2019s anti-Nazi play, \u201cWatch on the Rhine,\u201d which also starred Bette Davis. She stayed with the play for almost a year on Broadway and a year on the road.<\/p>\n

When \u201cWatch on the Rhine\u201d appeared in Los Angeles, Universal Studio signed her to a term contract starting at $175 a week. A dark-haired actor with a melodic singing voice, she appeared with a young Donald O\u2019Connor in low-budget musicals such as \u201cChip Off the Old Block\u201d and \u201cBowery to Broadway.\u201d The loan-out to Warner Bros. for \u201cMildred Pierce\u201d elevated Blyth\u2019s career and led to grown-up roles.<\/p>\n

Good at being bad<\/h4>\n

Like \u201cDouble Indemnity,\u201d adapted for the screen by Billy Wilder in 1944, \u201cMildred Pierce\u201d was a James M. Cain thriller about vengeance and calculation. Crawford won the 1945 Oscar as a waitress who rises to own a string of Los Angeles restaurants. Blyth was nominated in the supporting role as Mildred\u2019s spoiled daughter, Veda, who seduces her mother\u2019s second husband (Zachary Scott), then riddles him with bullets in a jealous rage.<\/p>\n

Directed by Michael Curtiz of \u201cCasablanca\u201d fame, \u201cMildred Pierce\u201d was a memorable piece of film noir that took place mostly at night. For Blyth it was a major change from the cheery musicals she had been known for. It was also a stretch for an actor who was the subject of magazine articles entitled \u201cIncorruptible!\u201d, \u201cAngelic Annie\u201d and \u201cAnn Blyth: Success Without an Enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1946, Blyth broke her back in a toboggan accident, and it appeared her career might be over. She spent seven months in a body cast and another seven months in a wheelchair, relying on her Roman Catholic faith for courage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe busy, exciting world I had known faded away, and my life slowed down to little things,\u201d she later told The Associated Press. \u201cBut even here I found myself blessed, for a new sense of prayer began to unfold to me.\u201d<\/p>\n