Katherine Alexander, a remarkable character actress, was born in 1897 to a mother of Cherokee descent and a father who farmed land on Indian territory. Despite her heritage, she never had the opportunity to play a Native American role throughout her thirty-five-year acting career. Instead, she often portrayed a society lady, a suffering wife, or a dignified mother, always maintaining an all-American image. A talented and versatile performer, Alexander effortlessly transitioned between drama, tragedy, and comedy, alternating between theater and cinema throughout her respectable career.
As a young girl, Alexander was trained in music by her mother, a frustrated musician herself. Katherine proved to be a gifted violinist, and her mother ensured she received a formal musical education. In fact, it was during a violin recital that producer Samuel Goldwyn discovered Alexander, who was just nineteen years old at the time. Goldwyn hired her for a role in a play he was producing, marking the beginning of her fruitful career on stage and later in Hollywood.
As a leading lady on Broadway, Alexander had the privilege of performing alongside renowned playwrights such as Arthur Schnitzler, Robert E. Sherwood, and Philip Barry. She soon became an indispensable actress supporting in Hollywood movies, working alongside great stars like Greta Garbo, Bette Davis, Cary Grant, and John Barrymore. Alexander was known for her reliability and competence, never failing to hold her own alongside her co-stars.
Alexander's shining hour came in 1949, two years before her retirement, when she took on the role of Linda Loman, the no-nonsense wife of Paul Muni's character in the London production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman". Following this triumph, she decided to retire from acting and spent the next thirty years enjoying a happy second life until her death in early 1981.
