Marion Ross

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Marion Ross born October 25 1928 is an American actress best known for her role as Marion Cunningham on the ABCtelevision series Happy Days from 1974 to 1984Born Marian Ross in Watertown in Carver County in southern Minnesota the daughter of Ellen née Hamilton and Gordon Rossshe lived in Waconia and then moved to Willmar and eventually to Albert Lea MinnesotaAt the age of 13 she changed the spelling of her name from Marian to Marion because she thought it would look better on a marquee After completing her sophomore year in high school she moved to Minneapolis Minnesota and worked as an au pair while studying drama at the MacPhail Center for the Arts and attending Southwest High School A year later her family moved to San Diego CaliforniaShe graduated from Point Loma High School in San DiegoRoss enrolled in San Diego State Universitywhere she was named the schools most outstanding actress After graduation in 1950 she performed in summer theater in La Jolla California The director was impressed by her talent and recommended that she try for work in films