Gloria Henry, born Gloria Eileen McEniry on April 2, 1923, in New Orleans, Louisiana, grew up on the edge of the Garden District. She received her education at the Worcester Art Museum School, and later moved to Los Angeles in her late teens.
Henry began her career in radio, working on various shows and commercials under the stage name Gloria Henry. She also performed in local theater groups.
Signed by an agent, Henry transitioned to film work, making her debut in the 1947 minor horse-racing film Sport of Kings. She continued to work in minor films throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, including the programmer Keeper of the Bees, the mystery drama Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back, and the Gene Autry westerns The Strawberry Roan and Riders in the Sky.
In the 1950s, Henry's career slowed down, and she appeared in more "B" films and episodic TV guest parts. She had a regular role on the private eye series The Files of Jeffrey Jones, but was written out of the show due to pregnancy.
Her big break came when she won the role of "Alice Mitchell" on the comedy series Dennis the Menace in 1959. She played the role for four seasons, alongside Herbert Anderson and Jay North.
After Dennis the Menace ended its run, Henry's career slowed down, and she appeared in occasional TV movies and bit parts. She married architect Craig Ellwood in 1949 and had three children with him before divorcing in 1977.
In her later years, Henry attended film festivals and nostalgic conventions, and made a brief appearance in the 2005 romantic comedy Her Minor Thing.
