Penny Edwards, an American actress, was born Millicent Maxine Edwards in 1928 in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City. At the age of 12, she performed as a dancer in Let’s Face It, and at the age of 14, she made her Broadway debut as a dancer in Ziegfeld Follies of 1943. Her other Broadway performances include The Duchess Misbehaves (1946) and Laffing Room Only (1944).
Edwards’ film debut came in My Wild Irish Rose (1947). She also appeared in the films Trail of Robin Hood, Spoilers of the Plains, Heart of the Rockies, In Old Amarillo, North of the Great Divide, Sunset in the West, Street Bandits, and Missing Women, among others.
In the late 1940s, Edwards toured the United States for 14 months, performing in vaudeville. Public response to Edwards’ appearance with Roy Rogers in Sunset in the West (1950) led to her receiving a long-term contract with Republic Pictures.
In the 1950s, Edwards appeared on television in Westerns and mystery programs. Edwards appeared as Nan Gable in the 1958 episode, “Two-Gun Nan”, on the syndicated television anthology series, Death Valley Days.
Edwards died of lung cancer in 1998, in Friendswood, Texas, at the age of 70. Take a look at these beautiful photos to see portraits of young Penny Edwards in the 1940s and 1950s.
