Biography
Fern Persons was an American actress whose career spanned film, television, theatre and radio from the 1930s until the early 2000s. She joined the Screen Actors Guild in 1937 and remained a member of SAG-AFTRA until her death. She served on the SAG national board of directors from 1976 to 1998, on the SAG Chicago Branch Council for 44 years and on the AFTRA Chicago Local Board for more than thirty years.
Born Fern Gwendolyn Ball in Chicago, she earned a bachelor’s degree in drama from Kalamazoo College in 1933 and a bachelor of fine arts in acting from the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Her film roles included the lab teacher in Risky Business (1983), Headmistress DeBreul in Class (1983), Opal Fleener in Hoosiers (1986) and Annie’s Mother in Field of Dreams (1989). She also appeared in television series such as ER and Early Edition.
