Audra Marie Lindley was born in Los Angeles, California into a show-business family; her father,
Bert Lindley, was a
stage and film actor. She got her start in Hollywood as a stand-in, which eventually progressed to stunt work. After a while,
though, she found stunt work not to her liking and went to New York in her twenties to take her talent to the stage. Among
her many Broadway plays were "On Golden Pond", "Playhouse 90", "Long Day's Journey Into Night", "Horse Heavens", and
many others. She was married twice--once to actor
James Whitmore--and raised five children.
She appeared in many films and TV shows, and is probably best-known for her work as zany, randy, lovable doyenne Helen
Roper, the sex-deprived wife of skinflint landlord Stanley Roper on
Three's Company (1976); the Roper characters were later spun
off into their own sitcom,
The Ropers (1979)).
In the fall of 1997 she was doing recurring work on
Cybill (1995) and
Nothing Sacred (1997) when she died of complications
from leukemia.
Nothing Sacred(1997)as Sister Sebastian
Cybill(1995)as Virginia Sheridan
Sisters and Other Strangers(1997)as Irene Connelly
The Relic(1997)as Dr. Zwiezic
Family Feud(1976)as Self
The 6th People's Choice Awards(1980)as Self - Audience Member
Pat Boone and Family Christmas Special(1979)as Self
Dinah!(1974)as Self
Entertainment Tonight(1981)as Self
Biography(1987)
Brilliant But Cancelled(2002)
Three's Company(1976)as Helen Roper
