Nanette Fabray

Nanette Fabray is an American actress, dancer and singer. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical theatre actress during the 1940s and 1950s, winning a Tony Award in 1949 for her performance in Love Life. In the mid1950s, she served as Sid Caesars comedic partner on Caesars Hour, for which she won three Emmy Awards. From 1979 to 1984, she appeared as Grandma Katherine Romano on One Day at a Time.

Fabray was born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Fabares in San Diego, California, to Raul Bernard Fabares, a train conductor, and Lily Agnes McGovern, a housewife. The family resided in Los Angeles and Fabrays mother was instrumental in getting her daughter involved in show business as a child. At a young age, she studied tap dancing with, among others, Bill Bojangles Robinson. She made her professional stage debut as Miss New Years Eve 1923 at the Million Dollar Theater at the age of three. She spent much of her childhood appearing in vaudeville productions as a dancer and singer. She appeared with stars such as Ben Turpin.

Source: Wikipedia