A singer at heart, she always found inspiration in music. "I always had my mind, my energies and my heart," she said, "deeply rooted in music." Heading to New York from her native Maryland, and from thereon westwards to Los Angeles and ultimately Hollywood, the first time she stepped in front of the movie camera was in 1981, for the film Hard Country. After that initial inroad many, many roles followed. Weaving her career both as a singer and an actress in equal parts, she managed to combine them both into a very personal and expressive career. She was 64.