Mariette Hartley was born Mary Loretta, a name she dislikes, in Weston,
Connecticut. She was raised in accordance with the principles espoused
by her behavioral psychologist grandfather, John B. Watson, who
believed that children should never be held or cuddled. She says that
the lack of warmth at home is what drove her to the theatre. She
studied with John Houseman at the
Repertory Stratford and with
Eva Le Gallienne at
Lucille Lortel's White Barn Theatre. It
took her six years to get her first movie,
Ride the High Country (1962)
with Joel McCrea. She then made a series of
TV appearances and sitcoms.
She is most known, however, for her series of Polaroid commercials with
James Garner. Mariette's father committed
suicide with a self-inflicted gunshot in 1962. Her family kept it a
secret for 25 years, but she eventually revealed the incident. This
brought her considerable acclaim for speaking out about her
devastation. She co-founded a suicide prevention foundation based on
her own past situation. She continues to work in the theatre and, in
2000, was hosting the syndicated
Wild About Animals (1995).
Her children, Justine E. Boyriven
(b. 1978) is an actress and singer, and
Sean Boyriven (b. 1975) is a film-school
graduate.
