Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Doris Nolan(1916-1998)

  • Actress
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Doris Nolan
Lovely blonde stage actress Doris Nolan, a one-time model, was born on July 14, 1916, in New York City and raised there. The daughter of an importer, she first appeared in plays at New Rochelle High School. Invited to join the Provincetown Players in 1933 following graduation, she worked as a secretary to the director as compensation for her tuition. She then played summer stock in plays such as "The Late Christopher Bean."

Nolan's first movie contract was with Fox Film Corporation. Set to make her debut with a small role in the Shirley Temple vehicle Our Little Girl (1935), Doris kept blowing her scene to the point it was deleted from the film and Fox quickly dropped her. Undeterred, Doris sought out Broadway and took her first bow in 1935 with the mystery "Night of January 16th" as the femme fatale lead. Other plays followed including "Arrest That Woman," "Tell Me Pretty Maiden" and "Lorelei."

Doris' Broadway stage visibility led to a return to films and she won a Universal contract. This time she made a distinct impression starring in two "B"-level Universal pictures directed by Ralph Murphy. The first, a drama The Man I Marry (1936), paired Doris opposite Michael Whalen; the second was a musical comedy Top of the Town (1937) that had her co-starring with song-and-dance man George Murphy. She then starred in the romantic comedy As Good as Married (1937) alongside John Boles. Doris' best-remembered role, by far, was in the second lead category, as Katharine Hepburn's chic, high-society sister in the delightful Columbia comedy classic Holiday (1938).

Doris would alternate between the stage and film after this film success. Returning to her theatre roots, she appeared in "Cue Passion" and "The Cat Screams" before co-starring successfully in the long-running New York war-era hit "The Doughgirls" for two years (1942-1944). As for the large screen, she returned to second-string filming co-starring as cop Charles Bickford's girlfriend in the crime drama One Hour to Live (1939). She then moved down the credits line in the Anna Neagle/Ray Milland musical romance Irene (1940); had the second femme lead as Dorothy Lamour's romantic rival in Paramount's adventure comedy Moon Over Burma (1940); and then abruptly ended her film career co-starring with Wendy Barrie in the minor musical Follies Girl (1943).

Doris met and married Canadian actor Alexander Knox in 1944. He wrote a play for them, "The Closing Door," which they starred together on Broadway in 1949. In the early 1950's, the couple moved permanently to England after he was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Slowing down considerably, Doris would be occasionally glimpsed in a few British films (The Servant (1963), Juggernaut (1974), The Romantic Englishwoman (1975)), but would appear more prominently as a guest on TV ("The Adventures of Robin Hood," "The Saint," "The Third Man," "Emergency Ward-10," "Boy Meets Girl"). Her last on-camera credit was a 1981 episode of the mini-series "Brideshead Revisited."

Doris later worked for an art gallery. She suffered a major family tragedy when their only child, 39-year-old actor Andrew Knox, died in 1987, a probable suicide. Doris' husband Knox died in 1995 and she would follow him in death a couple weeks after her 82nd birthday on July 29, 1998, in Northumberland, England.
BornJuly 14, 1916
DiedJuly 29, 1998(82)
BornJuly 14, 1916
DiedJuly 29, 1998(82)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win total

Photos53

View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
+ 46
View Poster

Known for

Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in Holiday (1938)
Holiday
7.7
  • Julia Seton
  • 1938
Doris Nolan and George Murphy in Top of the Town (1937)
Top of the Town
5.8
  • Diana Borden
  • 1937
Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, Shirley Knight, David Hemmings, Clifton James, and Roy Kinnear in Juggernaut (1974)
Juggernaut
6.6
  • Mrs. Corrigan
  • 1974
Ray Milland and Anna Neagle in Irene (1940)
Irene
6.3
  • Lillian
  • 1940

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress



  • Brideshead Revisited (1981)
    Brideshead Revisited
    8.6
    TV Mini Series
    • Mrs. Stuyvesant-Oglander
    • 1981
  • The Romantic Englishwoman (1975)
    The Romantic Englishwoman
    6.0
    • 2nd Mealticket Lady
    • 1975
  • Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, Shirley Knight, David Hemmings, Clifton James, and Roy Kinnear in Juggernaut (1974)
    Juggernaut
    6.6
    • Mrs. Corrigan
    • 1974
  • Kaz Garas, Anthony Quayle, and Anneke Wills in Strange Report (1969)
    Strange Report
    8.2
    TV Series
    • Miss Gray
    • 1969
  • Boy Meets Girl (1967)
    Boy Meets Girl
    6.9
    TV Series
    • Mrs. Bloemendal
    • 1968
  • BBC Play of the Month (1965)
    BBC Play of the Month
    6.7
    TV Series
    • Mrs. Markham, a Waitress
    • 1966
  • Alfie Bass, Janina Faye, and Carmel McSharry in Bindle (One of Them Days) (1966)
    Bindle (One of Them Days)
    5.5
    • American tourist
    • 1966
  • Emergency-Ward 10 (1957)
    Emergency-Ward 10
    6.2
    TV Series
    • Lydia Stock
    • 1964
  • Dirk Bogarde, James Fox, and Sarah Miles in The Servant (1963)
    The Servant
    7.8
    • People in restaurant: Older Woman (as Doris Knox)
    • 1963
  • Bob Dylan, David Warner, Ursula Howells, Reg Lye, and Maureen Pryor in The Madhouse on Castle Street (1963)
    BBC Sunday-Night Play
    8.5
    TV Series
    • Mrs. Richey
    • 1962
  • Roger Moore in The Saint (1962)
    The Saint
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Maude Inverest
    • 1962
  • Michael Rennie in The Third Man (1959)
    The Third Man
    7.7
    TV Series
    • Miss Wilson
    • 1959
  • ITV Play of the Week (1955)
    ITV Play of the Week
    6.7
    TV Series
    • Eleanor
    • Irma Mahler
    • Mrs. Brawley
    • 1958–1959
  • Armchair Theatre (1956)
    Armchair Theatre
    7.5
    TV Series
    • 1959
  • Aggie (1956)
    Aggie
    7.0
    TV Series
    • Mrs. de Witt
    • 1956

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Doris Knox
  • Height
    • 5′ 6¼″ (1.68 m)
  • Born
    • July 14, 1916
    • New York City, New York, USA
  • Died
    • July 29, 1998
    • Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, UK(undisclosed)
  • Spouse
    • Alexander KnoxDecember 30, 1944 - April 25, 1995 (his death, 1 child)
  • Children
    • Andrew Knox
  • Parents
    • Frank J. Nolan
  • Other works
    Active on Broadway in the following productions:
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article
    • 4 Pictorials

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Attended New Rochelle High School and appeared in school plays; studied dramatics at Provincetown Playhouse.

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.