---
name: "Ruth White"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ruth-white"
fi1m_id: "ruth-white"
imdb_id: "nm0925418"
tmdb_id: 8493
wikidata_id: "Q3328866"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "24 April 1914"
died: "3 December 1969"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 84
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-20T05:07:03.622153+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ruth White

## Identity

Ruth White

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ruth-white
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ruth-white
- **IMDb ID:** nm0925418
- **TMDB ID:** 8493
- **Wikidata ID:** Q3328866
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_White_(actress), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3328866, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925418/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8493

Actor. Born 24 April 1914 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, USA. Died 3 December 1969.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 24 April 1914, Perth Amboy, New Jersey, USA
- **Died:** 3 December 1969
- **Active:** 1959–1969
- **Also known as:** Ruth Patricia White
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 1 Emmy (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 84, as actor, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1950s 84 (1), 1960s 84 (2)
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 3
- **Screen time:** 7 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $71m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_White_(actress), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3328866, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925418/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8493

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Midnight Cowboy*](https://film.one/film/midnight-cowboy.md) (85)
- **Tubi:** [*The Nun's Story*](https://film.one/film/the-nuns-story.md) (84)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Ruth Patricia White (24 April 1914 – 3 December 1969) was an American actress who worked in theatre, film and television. A lifelong resident of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, she graduated with a degree in literature from New Jersey College for Women (now part of Rutgers University) in 1935. Her career was interrupted while she cared for her ailing mother, and she returned to acting in her mid-thirties.

White became one of New York’s most praised character actresses in the 1960s. She appeared in off-Broadway productions of Samuel Beckett’s *Happy Days*, for which she won an Obie Award in 1962, and works by Edward Albee. She received a Tony Award nomination for her role in Harold Pinter’s *The Birthday Party* (1968) and won an Emmy Award for the 1964 Hallmark Hall of Fame production *Little Moon of Alban*. Her film roles include Mother Marcella in *The Nun’s Story* (1959) and Mrs. Dubose in *To Kill a Mockingbird* (1962). She also appeared in *Midnight Cowboy* (1969) and *Hang ’Em High* (1968). White died of cancer in Perth Amboy.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Midnight Cowboy* (1969), Fi1m 85, as Sally Buck — [page](https://film.one/film/midnight-cowboy.md)
- *To Kill a Mockingbird* (1962), Fi1m 84, as Mrs. Dubose — [page](https://film.one/film/to-kill-a-mockingbird.md)
- *The Nun's Story* (1959), Fi1m 84, as Mother Marcella — [page](https://film.one/film/the-nuns-story.md)

## Complete filmography (32)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Pursuit of Happiness* (1971), as Mrs. Popper
- *The Reivers* (1969), as Miss Reba
- *Midnight Cowboy* (1969), as Sally Buck — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/midnight-cowboy.md)
- *Let Me Hear You Whisper* (1969), as Helen
- *Charly* (1968), as Mrs. Apple
- *A Lovely Way to Die* (1968), as Biddy
- *Hang 'em High* (1968), as Madame Sophie
- *No Way to Treat a Lady* (1968), as Mrs. Himmel
- *Johnny Belinda* (1967), as Aggie MacDonald
- *The Tiger Makes Out* (1967), as Mrs. Edna Kelly
- *Up the Down Staircase* (1967), as Beatrice Schacter
- *ABC Stage 67* (1966), series, as Geraldine
- *Cast a Giant Shadow* (1966), as Mrs. Chaison
- *A Rage to Live* (1965), as Mrs. Bannon
- *Baby the Rain Must Fall* (1965), as Miss Clara
- *The Fugitive* (1963), series, as Edith Waverly, Grams — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-fugitive-1963.md)
- *To Kill a Mockingbird* (1962), as Mrs. Dubose — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/to-kill-a-mockingbird.md)
- *The Nurses* (1962), series, as Mrs. Halpern
- *Ben Casey* (1961), series, as Catherine DiLorenzo
- *Dr. Kildare* (1961), series, as Hester Cullen
- *Lullaby* (1960), as Mother
- *The Untouchables* (1959), series, as Bertha Levinson
- *The Twilight Zone* (1959), series, as Mrs. Ford — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone.md)
- *The Nun's Story* (1959), as Mother Marcella — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-nuns-story.md)
- *Naked City* (1958), series, as Mama Ganoulian, Mary Nagler
- *DuPont Show of the Month* (1957), series, as Mrs. Burgess
- *Edge of the City* (1957), as Katherine Nordmann
- *Summer Pavilion* (1955), as Belle Travers
- *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Madame Beauchet
- *Goodyear Television Playhouse* (1951), series, as Ma
- *Studio One* (1948), series, as Belle Travers, Mrs. Cornelius, Mama, Amy
- *Kraft Television Theatre* (1947), series, as Mother Shipton

## Gallery

- ![A scene from "The Storks," which opened Nov. 29, 1903, at the Grand Opera House, Seattle. Includes Ruth White (senond from left) and Lou Brackett (second from r](https://film.one/media/person/103524/gallery-6777bab97b0d.jpg) A scene from "The Storks," which opened Nov. 29, 1903, at the Grand Opera House, Seattle. Includes Ruth White (senond from left) and Lou Brackett (second from r — Coover, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/A_scene_from_%22The_Storks%22_%28SAYRE_13002%29.jpg/1280px-A_scene_from_%22The_Storks%22_%28SAYRE_13002%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![A scene from "The Storks," which opened Nov. 29, 1903, at the Grand Opera House, Seattle. Includes Ruth White (center). Subjects: plays, actresses](https://film.one/media/person/103524/gallery-5a1af8e7d9b2.jpg) A scene from "The Storks," which opened Nov. 29, 1903, at the Grand Opera House, Seattle. Includes Ruth White (center). Subjects: plays, actresses — Coover, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/A_scene_from_%22The_Storks%22_%28SAYRE_1970%29.jpg/1280px-A_scene_from_%22The_Storks%22_%28SAYRE_1970%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Ruth White](https://film.one/media/person/103524/gallery-8680d3723807.jpg) Ruth White — Californiauser001, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Ruth_emmy_5x5.jpg/1280px-Ruth_emmy_5x5.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won

- 1964: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (won), for *Hallmark Hall of Fame*

### Other awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play 1968: Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (nominated)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ruth-white