Biography
Curvaceous brunette leading lady Ruth Roman came to Hollywood after graduating from the Bishop Lee Dramatic School in Boston. Her first major film assignment was the title role in the 1945 serial The Jungle Queen, a fact that embarrassed her fans far more than it bothered her. She climbed to stardom on the basis of several tough, uncompromising characterizations, often villainous in nature: Her better films of the 1950s include
Dallas (1950), Hitchcock's
Strangers on a Train (1950),
Tomorrow Is Another Day (1951), and
The Far Country (1955). In 1956, Roman survived the sinking of the Andrea Doria, finding herself the reluctant focal point of intrusive reporters as she waited in agony to learn the fate of her young son (who fortunately also survived). In films as a character actress until the 1980s, Ruth Roman also had recurring roles in the TV series The Long Hot Summer (1965) and
Knots Landing (1986). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide