A tall, willowy, highly attractive blonde, Canadian leading lady Rosemary Forsyth was born in Montreal on July 6, 1943, who moved to New York at age 5 with her divorced mother who found work as a model. Rosemary was keen on the idea of acting and studied drama both in high school. Inspired by her mother, she became a teenage model and attended the Wynn Handman Drama School.
In the mid 1960s, Rosemary attracted the attention of Universal and was groomed for TV and films. The soft, demure beauty with a similar classic elegance and resemblance to
Grace Kelly showed quite
a bit of promise amid the rugged surroundings as the young ingénue or romantic co-star to a number of top male veterans.
James Stewart in
Shenandoah (1965) (for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination for "Promising Newcomer"),
Charlton Heston in
The War Lord (1965), and both
Dean Martin and
Alain Delon in
Texas Across the River (1966)
all utilized her services in their respective films.
Marrying actor
Michael Tolan in 1966, Rosemary took a leave of absence from filming to have their child, daughter Alexandra. While the occasion, of course, was a joyous and fulfilling one, it managed to put a damper on her career. She returned to filming with the so-so film
Where It's At (1969)
starring
Robert Drivas and the very
mediocre
Dick Van Dyke comedy vehicle
Some Kind of a Nut (1969),
never quite reaching the peak prior to her maternity time off.
Rosemary showed up regularly on the small screen, however, in a slew of
standard 70s TV-movies and episodic guest roles. On daytime, she took
over the role of Laura Horton on
Days of Our Lives (1965)
from 1976-1980 and also had regular, albeit brief, parts on
Santa Barbara (1984) and
General Hospital (1963).
In recent years, she has popped up as more and arch matron types on such popular
shows as
Monk (2002),
NYPD Blue (1993), and
Without a Trace (2002). She also appeared in several films, often as mom or various professional types, including the crime comedy
Exit to Eden (1994), the music dramedy
Girl (1998), the dark drama
Valerie Flake (1999) and the sci-fi horror
Ghosts of Mars (2001). She made her last appearances to date on TV with "Providence," "Boston Public," "Monk," "NYPD Blue" and "Without a Trace," having been last seen featured in the tender family-oriented TV movie
Sweet Nothing in My Ear (2008) starring
Jeff Daniels and
Marlee Matlin.
Rosemary divorced actor/husband Tolan in 1970 and married and divorced twice more and widowed once.
Sweet Nothing in My Ear(2008)as Louise Miller
Without a Trace(2002)as Martha Scoggins, Nancy Highsmith
NYPD Blue(1993)as Felicia Heilbrenner
Monk(2002)as Marcia Ellison
A Time to Remember(2003)as Dorothy Walderson
Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon(1966)as Self
Match Game PM(1975)as Self - Panelist
Fan des années 90(2009)as Dominic
