Constance Mary Towers (born May 20, 1933) is an American actress and singer.

Early life

Towers was born in Whitefish, Montana, the daughter of Ardath L. and Harry J. Towers. According to her official Web site, a contract from Paramount Pictures was offered to her at age 11 but was declined. Towers later attended the Juilliard School of Music and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Career

Towers has had an extensive career on both the stage and screen. She portrayed the title role in the short-lived 1965 stage production of the musical Anya. She also played Anna opposite Yul Brynner in The King and I on Broadway in the 1970s. She appeared in a 1966 production of Showboat at Lincoln Center.

In 1993, Towers guest-starred in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Forsaken." She has had guest roles on a number of popular television programs including Frasier, Baywatch and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

She also appeared in the film drama A Perfect Murder with Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Earlier in her film career, Towers was known for playing tough girls. For example, she starred in Samuel Fuller's Shock Corridor as an exotic dancer and The Naked Kiss as a prostitute. She also starred in two John Ford western films, The Horse Soldiers and Sergeant Rutledge, as well as in the musical-comedy Bring Your Smile Along for director Blake Edwards.

Her many other TV roles have included series such as State Trooper, Hawaii Five-O, The Rockford Files and L.A. Law; in Love is a Many Splendored Thing playing Marion Hiller, the wheelchair-bound wife of Dr. Sanford Hiller; in Capitol (as one of the show's matriarchs, kindly Clarissa McCandless); as Madame Julianna Deschanel on Sunset Beach, as villainess Helena Cassadine on General Hospital, and as Audry Parker on The 4400.

Personal life

Towers is married to actor and former ambassador to Mexico, John Gavin.

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