Audley was a New York-area born, stage-trained actress who specialized in snobbish society matron types, most notably in the recurring role of the mother of Oliver Wendell Douglas (played by
Eddie Albert) on
Green Acres (1965), despite her being only six months older than Albert. However, she is likely best-remembered (if not by name) as the voice of two of Disney's most memorable animated villainesses: Lady Tremaine, the wicked stepmother, in
Cinderella (1950), and, almost a decade later. as the evil fairy Maleficent in
Sleeping Beauty (1959). She also served as the physical model for both Disney characters.
