Audra Marie Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an
American actress, most famous for her role as landlady
Helen Roper on the
sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off,
The Ropers.
Born in
Los Angeles,
California, Lindley was the daughter of show business parents. She got her early start in
Hollywood by being a stand-in, which eventually progressed to stunt work. Nothing panned out, and she went to New York in her mid-twenties to work in theater. Among her many
Broadway plays were:
On Golden Pond,
Playhouse 90,
Long Day's Journey into Night, and
Horse Heavens. She took time off to get married and raise five children. Upon resuming her career, she began to make steady appearances on television, including the role of Sue Knowles on the
CBS soap opera Search For Tomorrow, and a six-year stint as manipulative "Aunt Liz" Matthews on the
NBC soap opera
Another World. She also had regular roles as
Meredith Baxter's mother in the sitcom
Bridget Loves Bernie, as well as
Lee Grant's best friend in
Fay.