Edna May Wonacott
Biography
Edna May Wonacott is an American former child actress, born 06 February 1932 in Willits, California.
Her first film was Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and she retired from acting in the early 1950s.
A LIFE article about the film's production described how Wonacott was picked for the film:
GROCER'S DAUGHTER ACTS IN FILM
Besides turning Santa Rosa into a great movie studio for four weeks, Alfred Hitchcock did a final bit of magic and turned one of the city's younger children into a motion-picture starlet. Before the Shadow of a Doubt company moved into town, 10-year-old Edna May Wonacott was just another little girl who rode home from school on a bus and occasionally helped her father run his grocery store. Today she has a 7-year contract and a prediction from Hitchcock that she will be a star within a year.
The reason for this sudden transformation came about when Director Hitchcock wanted a little girl with freckles, pigtails and glasses to play the part of Teresa Wright's young sister. He looked around Santa Rosa for such a girl, just as he had looked for houses, banks and churches. Spying Edna May Wonacott, Hitchcock gave her a brief conclusive test, rushed her into the picture. Unlikely to be spoiled by Hollywood glamour, Edna May will go on living in Santa Rosa. According to her contract she can make only two pictures a year, these when school is out for the summer.
Filmography
With Hitchcock...
- Shadow of a Doubt (1943) — cast: Ann Newton
Film Frames
Selection of film frames: Edna May Wonacott (click image to view larger version or refresh thumbnails)...
Image Gallery
Images from the Hitchcock Gallery (click to view larger versions or search for all relevant images)...
See Also...
Links
