Sheila Ryan

Sheila Ryan, (June 8, 1921 – November 4, 1975) was an American actress who starred in over 60 movies. Born Katherine Elizabeth McLaughlin in Topeka, Kansas, she went to Hollywood in 1939 at the age of 18. She was signed by 20th Century Fox in 1940 and was credited in her early films as Bettie McLaughlin. Adopting the name Sheila Ryan, she starred in Dressed to Kill the following year. She appeared in other memorable films, including two Laurel an... more

Sheila Ryan, (June 8, 1921 – November 4, 1975) was an American actress who starred in over 60 movies. Born Katherine Elizabeth McLaughlin in Topeka, Kansas, she went to Hollywood in 1939 at the age of 18. She was signed by 20th Century Fox in 1940 and was credited in her early films as Bettie McLaughlin. Adopting the name Sheila Ryan, she starred in Dressed to Kill the following year. She appeared in other memorable films, including two Laurel and Hardy movies, Great Guns (1941) and A-Haunting We Will Go (1942), and the Busby Berkeley musical The Gang's All Here (1943). Ryan appeared in a several Charlie Chan and Michael Shayne mysteries, starring alongside Cesar Romero. By the late 1940s, however, her career waned and she began appearing mostly in B movies, especially low budget westerns. In 1945, she married actor Allan Lane, but the marriage ended in divorce after a few months. She later worked with Gene Autry, starring in several of his films, including The Cowboys and the Indians... less