Bonita Granville

Daughter of 'Bernard Granville' (qv), 'Bonita Granville' (qv) was born into an acting family. It's not surprising that she herself became a child actor, first on the stage and, at the age of 9, debuting in movies in _Westward Passage (1932)_ (qv). She was regularly cast as a naughty little girl, as in _These Three (1936)_ (qv) where she played Mary, an obnoxious girl spreading lies about her teachers. Her performance left an impression on the audience, and she was nominated for a best supporting actress award. In 1938-39 came the movies she is now best remembered for -- playing the bright and feisty detective/reporter Nancy Drew in the Nancy Drew series. She also appeared with 'Mickey Rooney' (qv) in a few Andy Hardy movies. She never really had a movie breakthrough, and after marrying oil millionaire & later producer 'Jack Wrather' (qv), she retired from acting in the middle of the 1950s, although she went on to produce the _Lassie (1954)_ (qv) TV series.::Mattias Thuresson