Barbara Bel Geddes - Definition

Barbara Bel Geddes as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1955

Barbara Bel Geddes (born October 31, 1922) is an American actress.

Bel Geddes, the daughter of architect Norman Bel Geddes, began as stage actress. Her most notable stage performance was originating the role of Maggie in Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Broadway in 1955.

Her film career began with 1947's The Long Night. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for I Remember Mama (1948). However, the House Unamerican Activities Committee investigations essentially ended her film career. Her career restarted when Alfred Hitchcock cast her in four episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents as well as an important role in the movie Vertigo (1958).

From 1978 to 1991, Bel Geddes played Miss Ellie Ewing Farlow on the prime time soap opera Dallas. In the 1984-1985 season she was replaced by Donna Reed because of Bel Geddes's heart surgery.

Retired from acting, she lives in Maine.