# Audra Lindley
**Audra Lindley** (Audra Marie Lindley; September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress best known for playing landlady Helen Roper on the ABC sitcom *Three's Company* from 1977 to 1979 and in its spin-off *The Ropers* from 1979 to 1980.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html) Born in Los Angeles to parents who worked in show business, she spent more than five decades on stage, in daytime soap operas, in prime-time television, and in film.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html) • [2](https://www.threescompany.com/cast/audra-lindley/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | September 24, 1918, Los Angeles; October 16, 1997, Los Angeles, aged 79[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html) |
| Signature role | Helen Roper on *Three's Company* (1977–1979) and *The Ropers* (1979–1980), opposite Norman Fell as Stanley Roper[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html) |
| Golden Globe nominations | Best Supporting Actress, Television, in 1973 for *Bridget Loves Bernie* and in the same category in 1979 for *Three's Company*[2](https://www.threescompany.com/cast/audra-lindley/) |
| Soap opera work | Liz Matthews on *[Another World](https://www.edgepedia.org/another-world-tv-series)* (1964–1969), plus roles on *Search for Tomorrow* and *The Edge of Night*[3](https://www.nndb.com/people/381/000049234/) |
| Broadway credits | *The Young and Fair* (1948–49), *Take Her, She's Mine*, *A Case of Libel*, *Spofford*, and *Fire!*[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/audra-lindley-49827) |
| Later screen work | *The Heartbreak Kid* (1972), *Cannery Row* (1982), *Desert Hearts* (1985), *Sudden Death* (1995), *The Relic* (1997)[3](https://www.nndb.com/people/381/000049234/) |
| Death | Complications from leukemia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she had been for three weeks; diagnosed earlier in 1997[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html) |
## Early life and start in Hollywood
Lindley was born in Los Angeles into a show-business family; her father, Bert Lindley, was a stage and film actor.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0511964/bio/) She told the *Los Angeles Times* in a 1987 interview that both her parents were actors and that from about age four she dreamed of being a movie star, wanting to be Katherine Cornell.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html)
Her first work in film was behind the camera: she began as a stand-in for cast members and moved into stunt work, including horseback riding tricks, before Warner Brothers signed her to a contract at a young age.[2](https://www.threescompany.com/cast/audra-lindley/) She made her film debut with a bit part in 1942's *The Male Animal*.[6](https://www.ontvtonight.com/guide/cast/15879149/audra-lindley/) She then left Hollywood for New York, where she studied with [Max Reinhardt](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-reinhardt) and made her stage debut in Los Angeles as the Mother in his production of *Six Characters in Search of an Author* (1940).[7](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/lindley-audra-1918-1997)
## Stage career
Lindley's Broadway career began in the 1940s and ran for decades. The Internet Broadway Database credits her with original or replacement roles in *Comes the Revelation* (1942), *Hear That Trumpet* (1946), *Heads or Tails* (1947), *The Young and Fair* (1948–49, with [Julie Harris](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-harris)), *Take Her, She's Mine* (1961–63, co-starring [Art Carney](https://www.edgepedia.org/art-carney)), *A Case of Libel* (1963–64), *Spofford* (1967–68, with [Melvyn Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/melvyn-douglas)), and *Fire!* (1969).[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/audra-lindley-49827) • [8](https://historicelitchtheatre.org/audra-lindley/) While in Manhattan she took time off to raise five children before returning to acting.[2](https://www.threescompany.com/cast/audra-lindley/)
Regional and touring theater remained part of her working life into the 1990s. She won a Drama-Logue award for *Handy Dandy* at the [Pasadena Playhouse](https://www.edgepedia.org/pasadena-playhouse), a New York Drama Circle nomination for *Fire*, the Citadel Best Actress Award in Canada for *Death of a Salesman*, and a New York Drama Best Actress nomination for *About Time* in 1990; the Drama Desk Awards also nominated her for Outstanding Actress in a Play in 1991 for *About Time*.[2](https://www.threescompany.com/cast/audra-lindley/) • [4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/audra-lindley-49827) She also starred in stage productions of *On Golden Pond*, *The Magnificent Yankee*, and *Love Letters*.[2](https://www.threescompany.com/cast/audra-lindley/)
## Television
Lindley was a mainstay of daytime soap operas in the 1950s and 1960s, including *Search for Tomorrow* and *The Edge of Night*, and spent several years as Liz Matthews on NBC's *Another World*.[6](https://www.ontvtonight.com/guide/cast/15879149/audra-lindley/) • [3](https://www.nndb.com/people/381/000049234/)
Her first major prime-time success came in the 1972–73 season on CBS's *Bridget Loves Bernie*, playing Amy Fitzgerald, the mother of [Meredith Baxter](https://www.edgepedia.org/meredith-baxter)'s character, a Catholic woman married to a Jewish man played by [David Birney](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-birney); the show drew controversy among some religious groups because it seemed to condone mixed marriages.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html) The role brought her first Golden Globe nomination.[2](https://www.threescompany.com/cast/audra-lindley/) She then held regular or recurring parts on the 1970s sitcoms *Fay*, *Doc*, and *Pearl*.[6](https://www.ontvtonight.com/guide/cast/15879149/audra-lindley/)
**Helen Roper.** Michael Eisner, then an ABC programming executive, inspired the casting of Lindley and [Norman Fell](https://www.edgepedia.org/norman-fell) as the Ropers, the landlords of Jack, Janet, and Chrissy in *Three's Company*, adapted from the British comedy *Man About the House*.[9](https://www.threescompany.com/about/) The show premiered on ABC on March 15, 1977, and ranked 28th in the Nielsen ratings on its premiere night.[9](https://www.threescompany.com/about/) Helen Roper was written as a warm, affectionate woman frustrated by her stingy husband Stanley, and Lindley's costume became part of the character: kaftans, bright jewelry, and a red wig maintaining the character's exaggerated hairstyle.[2](https://www.threescompany.com/cast/audra-lindley/) • [10](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=6199) The role brought her second Golden Globe nomination in 1979.[2](https://www.threescompany.com/cast/audra-lindley/)
The characters proved popular enough to carry their own spin-off, *The Ropers*, which began in the spring of 1979 directly after *Three's Company* and drew a 55 percent audience share in its ABC debut, staying in the top ten for the rest of that season. Moved to Saturday at 8 p.m. in its second season, the show lost ground and only twenty-six episodes were produced.[9](https://www.threescompany.com/about/)
**Later television.** Lindley worked steadily into the 1990s, with guest roles on *Murder, She Wrote*, *Matlock*, and *Tales from the Crypt*.[11](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/45589/audra-lindley) She played Phoebe's grandmother Frances on *Friends* in 1995 and took a recurring role as Virginia Sheridan, the mother of [Cybill Shepherd](https://www.edgepedia.org/cybill-shepherd)'s character, on CBS's *Cybill*.[11](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/45589/audra-lindley) • [1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html) She taped a *Cybill* episode about a month before her death.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html)
## Film
Her film credits include *The Heartbreak Kid* (1972), *Best Friends* (1982), *Cannery Row* (1982, as Fauna), *Desert Hearts* (1985, as Frances Parker), *Sudden Death* (1995), and *[The Relic](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-relic)* (1997, as Dr. Zwiezic).[3](https://www.nndb.com/people/381/000049234/) • [2](https://www.threescompany.com/cast/audra-lindley/) On *Desert Hearts*, director Donna Deitch declined a requested retake of a key scene for budget reasons; Lindley offered to buy a portion of the film if she could redo the single take, Deitch agreed, and Lindley kept her word.[10](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=6199)
## Personal life and death
Lindley married twice. Her first husband was Dr. Aaron Hardy Ulm, with whom she had five children; IBDB lists the marriage as 1943 to 1960, ending in divorce, while IMDb records it as lasting from 1943 until Ulm's death on April 25, 1970.[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/audra-lindley-49827) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0511964/bio/) She then married actor [James Whitmore](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-whitmore), whom she met in 1969 on the set of a play; the two divorced in 1979 but remained friends and frequently worked together on stage, including at the Historic Elitch Theatre in *The Chic Life* in 1969 and later stage appearances.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html) • [8](https://historicelitchtheatre.org/audra-lindley/) IBDB lists the marriage as 1972–1979, while IMDb records it as July 1971 to March 16, 1979.[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/audra-lindley-49827) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0511964/bio/)
Lindley was diagnosed with leukemia earlier in 1997 and died of complications from the disease on October 16, 1997, at [Cedars-Sinai Medical Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/cedars-sinai-medical-center) in Los Angeles, at age 79.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html) She was survived by three of her five children and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in [Santa Monica, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-monica-california).[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html) • [3](https://www.nndb.com/people/381/000049234/)
## References
1. [Audra Lindley; Television, Stage Actress, Los Angeles Times (October 19, 1997)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-19-me-44538-story.html)
2. [Audra Lindley, Three's Company official cast page](https://www.threescompany.com/cast/audra-lindley/)
3. [Audra Lindley, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/381/000049234/)
4. [Audra Lindley, Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/audra-lindley-49827)
5. [Audra Lindley Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0511964/bio/)
6. [Audra Lindley, On TV Tonight biography](https://www.ontvtonight.com/guide/cast/15879149/audra-lindley/)
7. [Lindley, Audra (1918–1997), Dictionary of Women Worldwide via Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/lindley-audra-1918-1997)
8. [Audra Lindley (1969), Historic Elitch Theatre](https://historicelitchtheatre.org/audra-lindley/)
9. [About the show, Three's Company official site](https://www.threescompany.com/about/)
10. [Audra Lindley, TVSA biography](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=6199)
11. [Audra Lindley, TVmaze credits](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/45589/audra-lindley)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Le to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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