Star of Hollywood’s Golden Age Jane Powell, best-known for the musical Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, has died aged 92, a representative has said.
The actress died peacefully of natural causes at her home in Wilton, Connecticut, on Thursday, long-time friend Susan Granger said.
Powell was known for her all-American girl-next-door image during her film career, which began in 1944 with the musical Song Of The Open Road.
Thanks to her operatic soprano voice, she appeared in a string of MGM’s musicals, including A Date With Judy alongside Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Royal Wedding with Fred Astaire and Hit The Deck, which also featured Debbie Reynolds.
Her most famous role was perhaps as boarding-house cook Milly in 1954’s Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, which was a massive hit for the studio thanks in large part to Michael Kidd’s masterful choreography.
The film was nominated for five Oscars – including best picture, which it lost to On The Waterfront – and won for best scoring of a musical picture.
Powell, who was born in Portland, Oregon but moved to Los Angeles as a teenager, also enjoyed a successful stage career, with appearances in productions such as Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady and Carousel.
She appeared on TV regularly throughout the 1980s, with roles in romantic comedy The Love Boat and sitcom Growing Pains.
Powell made a return to the stage in 2003 in Stephen Sondheim’s Bounce, with a role he had written specifically for her.
Powell was married five times, most recently to the former child star Dickie Moore, who died in 2015 aged 89.
She is survived by three children and two granddaughters, according to Ms Granger.