She was educated at Barnard College, studied dance and worked on stage and TV before making her film debut as a sexy Southern majorette in Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd. Her next role was also southern: Eula Varner in The Long, Hot Summer. She emerged as a real star in the role of an apparent rape victim in Anatomy of a Murder. And she won an Academy Award nomination for her role as the alcoholic wife of Jack Lemmon in Days of Wine and Roses. After more work in TV and movies, she moved to England in 1970, making more movies there. In 1988 she formed a production company with partners James Garner and Peter K. Duchow.
She had 2 children with Bill Colleran. Received the Women's International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award in 1990. Her son, Matt Colleran, was a founding member of Los Angeles rock band Mary's Danish. He wrote (with Gretchen Seager) the band's biggest hit, "Don't Crash the Car Tonight." Her role in Anatomy of a Murder was intended for Lana Turner, who got fired when she insisted that her off-the-rack costumes, (suitable for the part of an Army wife), be designed by splashy Jean Louis. Later, Remick was announced to replace Marilyn Monroe in the unfinished Something's Got to Give, but loyal co-star Dean Martin demanded that the studio reinstate the fired Monroe. Measurements: 34-21-34 (in 1959), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine) Lee's second husband, British producer Kip Gowans, worked with Lee on a number of TV movies including The Women's Room, and Rearview Mirror. In 1962, Lee, who was with 20th Century Fox, briefly replaced the excessively tardy Marilyn Monroe on the film Something's Got to Give. Lee never got past a few wardrobe fittings. Dean Martin, the film's co-star, refused to work with anyone but Marilyn and threatened to quit. As a result, Marilyn was brought back. The project was eventually scrapped. A very weak, almost unrecognizable Lee made one of her last public appearances on April 29, 1991, to receive her star on the "Hollywood Walk of Fame." In the last stages of her kidney cancer, her face was extremely bloated by the chemo treatments she was receiving. Jack Lemmon, her Days of Wine and Roses co-star, was at the ceremony to lend love and support. She died two months later on July 2nd. She was cremated at Westwood Memorial Park and services held at a later date. Elizabeth Taylor attended and eulogies were delivered by good friends Jack Lemmon and Gregory Peck. Her children, Kate and Matt Colleran, sang the title song from one of her Broadway musical shows "Anyone Can Whistle." Discovered she had tumors on her kidneys and lungs while filming in France in 1989. She had a remission in 1990 before the cancer returned again. Was nominated for Broadway's 1966 Tony Award as Best Actress (Dramatic) for "Wait Until Dark."