Jane Wyman was born Sarah Jane Mayfield on January 4, 1914, in St. Joseph, Missouri (she was also known later as Sarah Jane Fulks). When she was only eight years old, and after her parents filed for divorce, she lost her father prematurely. After graduating high school she attempted, with the help of her mother, to break into films, but to no avail. In 1932, after attending the University of Missouri, she began a career as a radio singer, which led to her first name change to Jane Durrell. In 1936 she signed a contract with Warner Bros. Pictures and that led to another name change, the more familiar one of Jane Wyman. Under that name she appeared in "A" and "B" pictures at Warners, including two with her future husband, Ronald Reagan: Brother Rat and its sequel, Brother Rat and a Baby. In the early 1940s she moved into comedies and melodramas and gained attention for her role as Ray Milland's long-suffering wife in The Lost Weekend. The following year she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role as Ma Baxter in The Yearling, and won the coveted prize in 1949 as deaf-mute rape victim Belinda MacDonald in Johnny Belinda. She followed that with a number of appearances in more prestigious films, such as Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright, Frank Capra's Here Comes the Groom, Michael Curtiz's The Story of Will Rogers and the first movie version of The Glass Menagerie. She starred opposite Bing Crosby in the musical Just for You. She was Oscar-nominated for her performances in The Blue Veil and Magnificent Obsession. She also starred in the immensely popular So Big, Lucy Gallant, All That Heaven Allows and Miracle in the Rain. In addition to her extensive film career, she hosted TV's Jane Wyman Theater and starred in most of the episodes of the show, which ran for three seasons. She came back to the big screen in Holiday for Lovers, Pollyanna and her final film, How to Commit Marriage. Although off the big screen, she became a presence on the small screen and starred in two made-for-TV movies, including The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel. In early 1981, in the 49th year of her career, she won the role of conniving matriarch Angela Channing Erikson Stavros Agretti in the movie "The Vintage Years", which was the unaired pilot for the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest, later in the year. For nine seasons she played that character in a way that virtually no other actress could have done, and became the moral center of the show. The show was a ratings winner from its debut in 1981, and made stars out of her fellow cast members Robert Foxworth, Lorenzo Lamas, Abby Dalton and Susan Sullivan. At the end of the first season the storyline had her being informed that her evil son, played by David Selby, had inherited 50% of a California newspaper company, and the conflicts inherent in that situation led to even bigger ratings over the next five years. Wyman was nominated six times for a Soap Opera Digest Award, and in 1984 she won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series Drama. By the show's eighth season, however, she was emotionally drained and the strain of constantly working to keep up the quality of a hit show took its toll on her. In addition, there was friction on the set among cast members. All of these events culminated in her departure from the show after the first two episodes of the ninth season (her character was hospitalized and slipped into a coma) for health reasons. After a period of recuperation, she believed that she had recovered enough to guest-star in the last three episodes of the season (her doctor disagreed, but she did it anyway). She then guest-starred as Jane Seymour's mother on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and three years later appeared in Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick. In the late 1990s she purchased a home in Rancho Mirage, California, where she's still living in retirement. Her daughter, Maureen Reagan (who died in August 2001), was a writer who also involved herself in political issues and organized a powerful foundation. Also, she placed her 3200-sq.-ft. Rancho Mirage condominium on the market.



Her Best Actress Oscar for Johnny Belinda (1948) makes her the only wife of a future U.S. President (Ronald Reagan) ever to win such an award. Her name changed to "Jane Faulks" when she was unofficially "adopted" by the Faulks family, middle-aged neighbors of her single mother. Moved to So. California with Mrs. Faulks when she was widowed in 1928 Apparently broke up with Ronald Reagan over her love for Lew Ayres, but that relationship failed in the long run. Daughter, with third husband - actor/former president Ronald Reagan - Maureen Reagan dies of malignant melanoma (skin cancer) at her Sacramento-area home. [8 August 2001] Was once a switchboard operator. Was a diabetic. Attended the University of Missouri. Would never talk about Ronald Reagan in an interview. She and her mother moved back to Missouri in 1930, where she could finish her education in high school before attending college. Was a chorus girl before being a successful actress. Replaced Gracie Allen for an evening of "The Burns and Allen Radio Show" when Gracie had a migraine. It turned out to be the only time Gracie missed their show in all the years Burns and Allen performed together. In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by either Lidia Simoneschi or Dhia Cristiani. She was occasionally dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta, Renata Marini, Rina Morelli or Giovanna Scotto. She attended Lafayette High School in St. Joseph, Missouri. She had 10 hobbies: landscape painting, golfing, dancing, collecting CDs, listening to music, playing piano, singing, philanthropy, reading and politics. Began her career as a contract player for Warner Bros. in 1936. Her "Falcon Crest" (1981) co-star, Susan Sullivan, won the 1998 Jane Wyman Award at the Arthritis Foundation. In 1991, she received the Golda Meir Award from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. Lived in a retirement home in Palm Springs, California, before she resided at the Rancho Mirage Country Club, where she died. Met Lorenzo Lamas's father, Fernando Lamas, on an episode of "Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre" (1955), when at the time of filming, Lorenzo was a 3 month old infant. By the time Lorenzo Lamas was 21, he persistently auditioned for a co-starring role in the long-running TV series, "Falcon Crest" (1981), opposite Wyman, as her grandson. His persistence paid off, and he won the role. Was a fan of "Murder, She Wrote" (1984). Was a spokesperson for the National Arthritis Foundation from the mid-1970s. Remained good friends with Susan Sullivan, during and after "Falcon Crest" (1981). Was a staunch Republican. She had been battling health problems for years, so producers thought they rewrote the scripts in such a way that her character didn't do most of the walking on the "Falcon Crest" (1981) set, by the time she collapsed on the show, she was ordered not to work anymore. Against her doctor's advice, she came back for the show's final three episodes. The first actress ever to have lots of name changes. After she took the name of Sarah Jane Fulks, she dropped her first name and used Jane, as her middle name, hence, she legally changed her name to Jane Durrell, however, she was asked to change her last name to Wyman, the same last name as her adoptive siblings - her mother had first been married to a Dr. Weymann. The youngest of three children.