Actress. She is best remembered for her vocal portrayals of the wicked stepmother Lady Tremaine in "Cinderella" (1950) and as the evil enchantress Maleficent in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959). Born Eleanor Zellman, after completing her formal education at Hunter College High School, she was encouraged by her relatives and peers to pursue a career in acting due in part to her praise of dramatic readings at school and religious functions. Upon joining the Theatre Guild, she began her career as a leading lady on the stage appearing in such productions as "Howdy, King," "On Call," "Pigeons and People," "Thunder on the Left," "Susan and God," and "In Bed We Cry." Following her extensive work in radio, she was introduced to director Crane Wilbur during a dinner party at the home of fellow actress Lucille Ball, whom she worked with during her recurring role as the overbearing mother-in-law Leticia Copper on her radio program "My Favorite Husband." Impressed by her distinctive voice, mature appearance, and immense kindness, he took notice of her potential and arranged for her to begin a career in the film industry beginning with her appearing under his supervision per a supporting role in the crime drama "The Story of Molly X" (1949). From there, she would go on to flourish as a recognizable character actress appearing in over 120 features; often typecast as wives, mothers, old maids, snobs, educators, clergywomen, historical figures, aristocrats, curmudgeons, aristocrats, columnists, singers, doctors, white-collared workers, landladies, wealthy widows, nurses, secretaries, dowagers, reporters, businesswomen, retail clerks and matriarchs. She appeared in such feature films as "Pretty Baby" (1950), "Gambling House" (1951), "With a Song in My Heart" (1952), "Cell 2455, Death Row" (1955), "All That Heaven Allows" (1955), "The Unguarded Moment" (1956), "Spoilers of the Forest" (1957), "Home Before Dark" (1958), "A Summer Place" (1959), "The Second Time Around" (1961), "Wives and Lovers" (1963), "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" (1964), "I'll Take Sweden" (1965), "Never a Dull Moment" (1968), and "Hook, Line, and Sinker" (1969). During the advent of television, she became an even more family face appearing in numerous guest spots on such syndicated sitcoms as "The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse," "Studio 57," "Front Row Center," "Our Miss Brooks," "Father Knows Best," "The Adventures of Jim Bowie," "I Love Lucy," "Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre," "The Loretta Young Show," "Frontier Doctor," "The Old Testament Scriptures," "Mike Hammer," "The Twilight Zone," "Dennis the Menace," "Make Room for Daddy," "The Joey Bishop Show," "Peter Gunn," "The Gale Storm Show," "Perry Mason," "Shirley Temple's Storybook," "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Green Acres," "The Tab Hunter Show," "Have Gun - Will Travel," "Wagon Train," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "Mister Ed," "Peyton Place," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," "Hazel," "The Jack Benny Program," "Honey West," "Kentucky Jones," "The Real McCoys," "McHale's Navy," "Pistols 'n' Petticoats," "The Big Valley," and "My Three Sons." During her career, she was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, was supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, had voiced the phantom medium Madame Leota in the Haunted Mansion attraction for Disneyland and Walt Disney World, was a member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee, had been a regular parishioner of the Temple Israel of Hollywood, was a dramatic instructor for the Pasadena Playhouse, presided as an honorary chairwoman for her local charters of the American Red Cross and the Boys & Girls Clubs, and she was one of the founding members of the Canyon Theatre Guild. Upon her retirement in 1970, Audley, who never married nor had any children, spent the remainder of her life living comfortably in the suburbs being a regular attendee at autograph conventions, and was involved in charitable and religious ventures, until her death.