My Take
Mary Wickes was the kind of character actress Hollywood could never quite do without — that razor-sharp woman in the corner of the frame who'd say exactly what nobody else had the nerve to say, and steal the scene while doing it. From her early work playing no-nonsense nurses and secretaries in the 1940s all the way to Sister Mary Lazarus in Sister Act opposite Whoopi Goldberg, she never once phoned it in. What I love about her is that she built a whole career on being the person who holds the leads accountable, and she did it with such dry wit that you were rooting for her every time. The fact that she was still working right up to her death in 1995 — even lending her voice to Laverne in The Hunchback of Notre Dame — says everything about how timeless that kind of talent really is.
Overview
Mary Wickes (born Mary Isabella Wickenhauser; June 13, 1910 – October 22, 1995) was an American character actress, who worked in both film and television. From the 1940s to 1970s, she often played supporting roles as prim, professional women – such as secretaries, nurses, nuns, therapists, teachers, and housekeepers – who made sarcastic quips when the leading characters fell short of her high standards, and she conti…
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Mary Wickes
- Name (Japanese)
- メアリー・ウィックス
- Reading
- めありー・うぃっくす
- Born
- June 13, 1910 – October 22, 1995
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Dog
- Origin
- St. Louis, Missouri, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television actor / voice actor / stage actor / film actor / singer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Beaumont High School
- University
- Washington University in St. Louis
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.