Early Life
Leachman was born in Des Moines, Iowa, where she attended Roosevelt High School. She is the eldest of three daughters of Cloris (née Wallace) and Berkeley Claiborne "Buck" Leachman, who worked at the family-owned Leachman Lumber Company. Her youngest sister, Claiborne Cary (1932–2010), was an actress and singer. Leachman's maternal grandmother was of Bohemian (Czech) descent.
Leachman majored in drama at Illinois State University and Northwestern University, where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta and a classmate of future comic actor Paul Lynde. Leachman began appearing on television and in films shortly after competing in Miss America as Miss Chicago 1946. Before that she was very active at the Des Moines Playhouse, starring in many productions.
Read more about this topic: Cloris Leachman
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