Dorris Bowdon
Dorris Estelle Bowdon (December 27, 1914 – August 9, 2005) was an American actress, best known for her role as Rosasharn in The Grapes of Wrath.
Also recorded as Dorris Estelle Bowdon
Dorris Bowdon

A Darryl F. Zanuck Production · trailer · Public domain
- Name
- Dorris Bowdon
- Born
- 27 December 1914
- Birthplace
- Coldwater, Mississippi, U.S.
- Died
- 9 August 2005
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Film actress
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- Louisiana State University
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Dorris Estelle Bowdon (December 27, 1914 – August 9, 2005) was an American actress, best known for her role as Rosasharn in The Grapes of Wrath.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Dorris Bowdon (1914–2005) was an actress, of American nationality. The actress was born in Tate County and died in Los Angeles. Dorris Bowdon was educated at Louisiana State University. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q273271 · wikipedia · Dorris Bowdon
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Dorris Bowdon • Born — 27 December 1914 • Birthplace — Coldwater, Mississippi, U.S. • Died — 9 August 2005 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Occupation — Film actress • Years Active — 19381943 • Children — 3
Early life
Early life
Dorris Estelle Bowdon was born on December 27, 1914, in Coldwater, Mississippi, one of seven children of Lillian and James Bowdon. She attended Louisiana State University.
Career
Career
Bowdon was an actress in the 1930s and 1940s. When she was 20 years old, talent scout Ivan Kahn found her in Memphis, Tennessee, and brought her to Hollywood, California, for a screen test with 20th Century Fox. She "didn't fare so well" in her first test, so she was given another try.
Personal life
Personal life
She was married to Nunnally Johnson from 1939 until his death in 1977, and they had three children together, the first of whom was born in 1942, which prematurely ended Bowden's acting career. They resided in a mansion located at 625 Mountain Drive in Beverly Hills, California. It was designed by architect Paul R. Williams and built from 1937 to 1938 by O' Neal and Son. Actor Jack Johnson is her grandson.
Death
Death
Bowdon died in Los Angeles at the age of 90 of a stroke and heart failure. She was cremated and a portion of her ashes were scattered at sea and another portion interred with her husband Nunnally Johnson in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Filmography
Filmography
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1938 — Always Goodbye — Minor Role — Uncredited • 1938 — Down on the Farm — Tessie Moody • 1939 — Young Mr. Lincoln — Carrie Sue — Uncredited • 1939 — Drums Along the Mohawk — Mary Reall • 1940 — The Grapes of Wrath — Rose of Sharon • 1940 — Jennie — Lottie Schermer • 1943 — The Moon Is Down — Molly Morden — (final film role)

Robert Lowery Dorris Bowdon in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) - publicity still (original image cropped: see source)
unknown (20th Century Fox) probably Frank Powolny · eBay
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
2005
Dorris Bowdon died at Los Angeles.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Tate County.
Birth place
Los Angeles.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Nelson, Valerie J. Dorris Bowdon, 90; Actress Best Known for 'Grapes of Wrath'. The Los Angeles Times. August 12, 2005.
- 2.Talent Scouts Scouring Country for New Faces to Go Into Movie Mills. The San Bernardino County Sun. Associated Press. 1. March 20, 1938.
- 3.Victoria Talbot, 'Beverly Hills Cultural Heritage Commission Splits 2 To 2 on Mountain Drive Landmark Vote', The Beverly Hills Courier, October 03, 2014, Vol. XXXXVIIII, No. 39, p. 4
- 4.Doris Bowden Obit. memphistechhigh.com.
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The authorities additionally record the heading Dorris Estelle Bowdon. Her recorded language was English. She married Nunnally Johnson.
Identity and origins
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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