Kay Medford

American actress

Died: April 10, 1980

Famous Persons

Who was Kay Medford?

Margaret Kathleen Regan (September 14, 1916 – April 10, 1980), better known as Kay Medford, was an American actress and singer. Her mother had been an actress with a Shakespearean stock group in Connecticut. Orphaned in her teens, she adopted the name Kay Medford professionally, and began her career after graduating from high school and working as a nightclub waitress. While living a spartan existence in New York, looking for acting roles, she came to the attention of columnist Whitney Bolton (New York Morning Telegraph) and then his friend, MGM producer Mervyn LeRoy. After auditioning for LeRoy, he signed her to a personal contract and began her star-grooming, fitness, and weight-loss regimen in New York before she headed to Los Angeles. Margaret Kathleen Regan, better known as Kay Medford, was an American actress and singer.

Historical significance

For her performance as Rose Brice in the musical Funny Girl and the film adaptation of the same name, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress respectively. A multi-page portrait in the March 10, 1942, issue of Look magazine first brought her to national attention.

Sources and further reading

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Wikipedia source

Cite this page

MLA

“Kay Medford.” thisDay, thisday.info/people/kay-medford/. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

APA

Kay Medford. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 26, 2026, from https://thisday.info/people/kay-medford/

Chicago

“Kay Medford.” thisDay. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://thisday.info/people/kay-medford/.

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