Biography
Frances Bay (also credited as Frances Evelyn Bay and Frances Evelyn Goffman) was a Canadian-American character actress. She began her career in radio in the 1930s and became known as 'The Girlfriend to the Canadian Forces' on CBC Radio during the Second World War. After a hiatus following her marriage, she studied acting with Uta Hagen in New York and returned to performing in her late fifties.
Bay made her screen debut in the 1978 film Foul Play and went on to appear in more than fifty films and numerous television series. She is noted for roles including Mrs Milo in The Karate Kid (1984), Aunt Barbara in Blue Velvet (1986), Mother Superior in Twins (1988), Mrs Tremond in Twin Peaks (1990) and its 1992 prequel, and Grandma in Happy Gilmore (1996). She also appeared in the final episodes of the sitcoms Happy Days, Who's the Boss? and Seinfeld.
Bay won a Gemini Award for her guest role in Road to Avonlea and was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2008. She continued working into her nineties.
