At 83, Elinor Donahue Is Still Spirited And Looks Incredible

Oct 13, 2020

Actress Elinor Donahue, 83, is best known for playing Betty Anderson in Father Knows Best. From doing vaudeville to movies, she once said that she wants to be remembered as a multifaceted entertainer.

Do not mistake her for Audrey Hepburn. Elinor Donahue may share a lot of similarities in terms of looks with the Breakfast at Tiffany's star but she is a decorated actress in her own right. With an acting career that spans six decades, there's much to the 83-year-old's life that fans don't know about.

According to her IMDb page, Donahue's first appearance on the big screen came in 1943's Mister Big. She subsequently attained minor roles in Winter Wonderland, Three Daring Daughters, and Love Is Better Than Ever.

It wasn't until more than a decade later, though, in 1954 that she would secure the role that skyrocketed her career: Betty Anderson in Father Knows Best. Her performance as Betty led to an Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Continuing Character) in a Comedy Series. In an interview with The Television Academy Foundation in 2019, she shared one of her favorite memories from filming Father Knows Best saying:

"Until I was 18, which was shortly after we started filming Father Knows Best, the day of my 18th birthday, they brought in a cake at 5 o'clock sang 'Happy Birthday,' and said, 'Ha-ha now you don't get to go home. Now you'll work late like the rest of us!'"

However, Elinor's career as an entertainer came even before Mister Big – according to IMDb, she landed gigs as a vaudeville dancer when she was still a toddler and getting picked up by Universal Studios at five years old.

Elinor has been married three times. She has four sons, Brian Ackerman, Peter Ackerman, James Ackerman, and Chris Ackerman as well as two step-children: Susan Peterson and Stephen Ackerman. Elinor had Brian with her first husband, Richard Smith, according to People.

Elinor's late husband and tv producer Harry Ackerman, who was over 20 years older than Elinor, was the father figure that she never had as a child, according to AmoMama. Unfortunately, Harry passed away in February 1991 of pulmonary failure. One year later, Elinor married her third and current husband, Lou Genevrino who is described as "the one she was looking for" 

According to AmoMama, in an interview with the Archive of American Television, Elinor admitted that she would like to be remembered as a multifaceted actress who stayed in business for decades. She added that she's at peace with the decision she made to leave the industry in 2011.

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