Doris Davenport, also known as Doris Jordan (January 1, 1917 - June 18, 1980) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 film actress

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 during the 1930s and early 1940s.

Davenport was born in Moline, Illinois

Moline, Illinois

Moline is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, with a population of 45,792 in 2010. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities has a population of...

, but raised in Hollywood, California. She started auditioning for acting roles, and performed in her first film in 1934, titled Kids Millions.

From 1934 to 1939, she would appear in only five films, supporting herself by working in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 as a fashion model between films. However, when she auditioned under the screen name "Doris Jordan" for the role of "Scarlett O'Hara

Scarlett O'Hara

Scarlett O' Hara is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name...

", the lead role in the now classic Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind (film)

Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...

, she did well enough to become one of the finalists for the role, but lost out to actress Vivien Leigh

Vivien Leigh

Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...

.

Despite not winning that major role, Davenport impressed "MGM" executive Samuel Goldwyn

Samuel Goldwyn

Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...

. In 1940, he gave a lead role to Davenport in the film The Westerner, starring opposite Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper

Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...

 and Walter Brennan

Walter Brennan

Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...

. That same year she starred in the film Behind the News opposite Lloyd Nolan

Lloyd Nolan

Lloyd Benedict Nolan was an American film and television actor.-Biography:Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Margaret and James Nolan, who was a shoe manufacturer...

. It would be her last role. With no other offers following that film, she soon retired from acting.

She eventually settled in Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...

, where she lived until her death on June 18, 1980, aged 63.

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