Rue McClanahan

About Rue McClanahan

Rue McClanahan (born Eddi Rue McClanahan; February 21, 1934) is an Emmy Award-winning American actress, known for her roles on the television sitcoms Maude and The Golden Girls. She currently stars in Sordid Lives: The Series as Peggy Ingram.

McClanahan was born in Healdton, Oklahoma, the daughter of Dreda Rheua-Nell (née Medaris), a beautician, and William Edwin McClanahan, a building contractor. She is of Irish and Choctaw Indian ancestry, and grew up in Ardmore, Oklahoma; she graduated from Ardmore High School in 1953. At the University of Tulsa, she majored in German and Theatre and was a member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta.

She began acting on stage in New York City in 1957, but her breakout role was of maniacal nanny Caroline Johnson on Another World from July 1970 - September 1971. In the show, while taking care of twins Michael and Marianne Randolph, Caroline fell in love with their father, John, and began poisoning their mother, Pat. Due in part to McClanahan's performance, the short-term role was extended to over a year before Caroline was finally brought to justice after kidnapping the twins. McClanahan expected negative fan reaction but was generally popular, even getting one letter advising her on the best poisons with which to kill Pat. Unlike a number of actors who become famous after leaving soaps, McClanahan has always praised daytime drama and the people who work in it.