Audra Marie Lindley was born in Los Angeles, California, into a family with a strong background in show business, as her father, Bert Lindley, was a stage and film actor. Her early beginnings in Hollywood involved working as a stand-in, which eventually transitioned into stunt work.
However, Lindley soon discovered that stunt work wasn't her cup of tea, and at the age of twenty, she relocated to New York to pursue her passion for the stage. Throughout her career, she appeared in numerous Broadway plays, including "On Golden Pond", "Playhouse 90", "Long Day's Journey Into Night", "Horse Heavens", and many others.
Lindley was married twice, once to actor James Whitmore, and had five children. She continued to work in the entertainment industry, appearing in various films and television shows.
Her most notable role was as Helen Roper, the lovable but sex-deprived wife of skinflint landlord Stanley Roper, on the popular sitcom Three's Company (1976). The Roper characters were later spun off into their own sitcom, The Ropers (1979).
Tragically, Lindley passed away in the fall of 1997 due to complications from leukemia, while she was working on recurring roles in Cybill (1995) and Nothing Sacred (1997).
