Person Biography:
Jan Sterling was a talented American actress, born Jane Sterling Adriance in New York City to a well-to-do family. She was educated in private schools and later spent time in Europe, where she was schooled by private tutors in London and Paris. She was enrolled in Fay Compton's dramatic school in London and later returned to Manhattan, where she began her career on Broadway.
Sterling made her film debut in 1947, billed as Jane Darian, and went on to appear in numerous films and television shows throughout the 1950s. She was often cast as hard and determined characters, but also played more sympathetic roles. In 1954, she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The High and the Mighty and was nominated for an Academy Award for the same performance.
Sterling continued to work in film and television throughout the 1960s, but her career began to decline after the death of her second husband, the actor Paul Douglas, in 1959. She retired from films in 1969 and returned to television in 1979 to portray Lou Henry Hoover in the miniseries Backstairs at the White House.
Sterling's personal life was marked by two marriages, the first to John Merivale, which ended in divorce, and the second to Paul Douglas, who died in 1959. She entered into a long-lasting personal relationship with Sam Wanamaker in the 1970s and passed away in 2004 at the age of 82.
