Joan Lorring

Lorring was born in Hong Kong. Her family fled Hong Kong in 1941 following the Japanese invasion, traveling by boat to Honolulu, and then landing in San Francisco. Soon after, they moved to Los Angeles and Madeleine (known by her nickname "Dellie") began working as a child actress in radio and film – she was credited as "Dellie Ellis" when she played the title role in the radio program A Date With Judy (1942). She eventually adopted Joan Lorring as her stage name.

Lorring began her career as a child actress on the radio. Her performances include Alma Horrell in the Suspense episode "The Great Horrell", aired on August 22, 1946, and "The Farmer Takes a Wife".

Lorring made her Broadway debut in 1950, originating the role of Marie Buckholder opposite Shirley Booth in Come Back Little Sheba. Terry Moore later played Marie in the 1952 film version. For this role, Lorring won a Donaldson Award for Most Outstanding Female Debut in the 1949–1950 Broadway season. This success led to her performing in the 1951 Broadway production of the Lillian Hellman play The Autumn Garden. In 1954, she performed in the play Dead Pidgeons, and her last Broadway appearance was in 1957, originating the role of The Young Woman, opposite Kim Stanley as The Woman, in A Clearing in the Woods by Arthur Laurents. In 1970, Lorring performed in an Off-Broadway production of Awake and Sing! as Bessie Berger.

Loring was married to cancer researcher and Professor of Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry at Cornell Medical School, and Chief of Endocrinology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Martin Sonenberg. The couple had two daughters, Santha and Andrea.

Lorring enjoyed a quiet retirement through the 1980s and 1990s. She lived until May 30, 2014, when she died in Sleepy Hollow, New York at age 88 from natural causes. She was not included in the In-Memoriam segment at the 87th Academy Awards.