An attractive, accomplished actress, Martha Scott began her professional career appearing in Shakespearean productions at the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair. After further honing her craft in stock and on radio, she made her mark as Emily in the 1938 original Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winning "Our Town". Scott earned a 1940 Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her film debut recreating the stage role. For much of her early feature career, the Missouri native generally playing characters much older than herself like the titular elderly woman reflecting on her life
