# Luana Patten
**Luana Patten** (July 6, 1938 – May 1, 1996) was an American actress who began as a [Walt Disney](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney) contract child star, debuting as Ginny Favers in *Song of the South* (1946), and later worked as an ingénue in films and television before retiring from Hollywood at the end of 1970.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666087/bio/) She was one of the studio's first two contract players, alongside [Bobby Driscoll](https://www.edgepedia.org/bobby-driscoll), at a time when Disney was making its first major move into live-action filmmaking.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/song-of-the-south-film/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | July 6, 1938, Long Beach, California; May 1, 1996, Long Beach, of respiratory failure[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666087/bio/) |
| Birth name | Luana June Patten[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666087/bio/) |
| Discovery | A professional model from age 3; Walt Disney signed her after seeing her on the cover of *Woman's Home Companion*[3](https://songofthesouth.net/movie/biographies/patten.html) |
| Disney status | One of Disney's first two contract players, with Bobby Driscoll[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/song-of-the-south-film/) |
| Signature role | Ginny Favers in *Song of the South* (1946), in which she sang "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" with Driscoll[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/song-of-the-south-film/) • [4](https://d23.com/this-day/luana-patten-is-born/) |
| Career span | Film debut in 1946; full retirement from Hollywood at the end of 1970, except a brief cameo in *Grotesque* (1987)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666087/bio/) |
| Marriages | Ronny D Huntley (1955–1959), actor John Smith (1960–1964), Jerry Don Mays (1970–1973); all divorced, no children[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666087/bio/) |
## Discovery and Disney contract
Patten began modeling at age three. Her path to the studio ran through a magazine cover: Disney spotted her on the front of *Woman's Home Companion* and she was brought to audition. She later recalled that her mother took her to the [Hollywood Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/hollywood-bowl), where hundreds of girls were auditioning; the field was narrowed to her and five others, each given a screen test, and she won the role of Ginny.[3](https://songofthesouth.net/movie/biographies/patten.html)
*Song of the South* (1946) was the studio's first substantial live-action feature, combining live action with animated sequences in which [Uncle Remus](https://www.edgepedia.org/uncle-remus)'s stories of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear were shown. Patten played Ginny Favers, a local girl who befriends Johnny, played by Bobby Driscoll; the film premiered on November 12, 1946, at Loew's Grand in Atlanta, and its song "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" won an Academy Award for Best Song.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/song-of-the-south-film/) Patten and Driscoll, promoted together as Disney's "Sweetheart Team", became the studio's first two contract players.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/song-of-the-south-film/) • [3](https://songofthesouth.net/movie/biographies/patten.html) The live-action director Harve Foster called the young Patten "a natural".[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/obituary-luana-patten-1346679.html)
## Child-star films, 1946 to 1949
Her first completed film was actually MGM's *Little Mister Jim* (1946), in which she played Missey Choosey; the Independent obituary by Dick Vosburgh, an obituary writer and film historian, records that MGM did not pick up her option, while Disney did.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/101764) • [5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/obituary-luana-patten-1346679.html) At Disney she appeared in quick succession in *Fun and Fancy Free* (1947), *[Melody Time](https://www.edgepedia.org/melody-time)* (1948), and *So Dear to My Heart* (1949), the last again as Driscoll's playmate, in the role of Tildy.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/101764) • [7](https://d23.com/a-to-z/patten-luana/) In January 1949 she and Driscoll accompanied Walt Disney to [Indianapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/indianapolis), and on to Columbus and [Cincinnati](https://www.edgepedia.org/cincinnati), to promote *So Dear to My Heart*.[8](https://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/216/Luana%2BPatten/index.html)
**School on the lot.** Her five-year Disney contract covered acting, schooling on the Disney Studio lot, and promotional tours. She left acting in her early teens to finish her education, telling the *Los Angeles Times* in 1959 that "the best thing I could have done was to become an ordinary teenager and enjoy being one of the crowd".[4](https://d23.com/this-day/luana-patten-is-born/) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-05-07-mn-1411-story.html) She attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, graduating in June 1956.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-05-07-mn-1411-story.html) • [8](https://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/216/Luana%2BPatten/index.html)
## Return to films
Within days of notifying her agent that she was ready to work after graduation, she was signed for *Rock, Pretty Baby* at Universal-International and for Disney's *Johnny Tremain*.[8](https://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/216/Luana%2BPatten/index.html) In *Johnny Tremain* (1957), a Revolutionary War story originally intended for Disney's television show but released theatrically, she played Cilla Lapham, the teenage love interest; she reported that studio staffers greeted her warmly, recalling incidents from her childhood on the lot. Walt Disney's younger daughter, Sharon, was one of her young co-stars, and by Patten's account had been her playmate at the studio years earlier.[10](https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/childhood-personified-walt-and-his-child-stars) • [5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/obituary-luana-patten-1346679.html)
Her late-1950s films included *Joe Dakota* (1957, as Jody Weaver), *The Restless Years* (1958, Polly Fisher), and *The Young Captives* (1959, Ann Howel).[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/101764) In 1960 she played Libby Halstead in MGM's *Home From the Hill*, directed by [Vincente Minnelli](https://www.edgepedia.org/vincente-minnelli), appearing opposite [Robert Mitchum](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-mitchum), George Peppard, and George Hamilton; MGM publicity promoted her, Peppard, and Hamilton as a trio of "New Faces" with potential star power, though the obituarist judged that the studio did more for the two actors than for her.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/101764) • [5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/obituary-luana-patten-1346679.html) Further 1960s credits included *The Music Box Kid* (1960), *The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come* (1961, at Fox), *A Thunder of Drums* (1961), *Go Naked in the World* (1961, as Yvonne Stratton), and *Shoot Out at Big Sag* (1962).[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/101764)
## Television and final roles
Patten's last Disney film was *Follow Me, Boys!* (1966), in which she played Nora White; it was her first Disney appearance in nine years.[7](https://d23.com/a-to-z/patten-luana/) • [5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/obituary-luana-patten-1346679.html) Her television work included three episodes of *Dragnet 1967* between 1967 and 1970, an episode of *Adam-12* (1970), an episode of *[Daniel Boone](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-boone-1964-tv-series)* (1969), and appearances on series such as *The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet* and *Wagon Train*; she also performed the song "Neath the Reaching Oak Tree" in a 1960 episode of *[Rawhide](https://www.edgepedia.org/rawhide-tv-series)*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666087/bio/) • [4](https://d23.com/this-day/luana-patten-is-born/) • [11](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/luana-patten) She retired from Hollywood completely at the end of 1970, returning only for a brief cameo as the Old Lady in *Grotesque* (1987).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666087/bio/)
## Personal life
Patten married three times, all ending in divorce: Ronny D Huntley in August 1955, when she was about 17, divorced March 1959; the actor [John Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-smith-actor), whom she met on the Western series *Cimarron*, on June 4, 1960, divorced December 1964; and Jerry Don Mays on June 26, 1970, divorced December 1973. She had no children.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666087/bio/) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-05-07-mn-1411-story.html) Her parents were Harvey T. Patten and Alma Miller, who had lived in Enid, Oklahoma, until 1937 before moving to Long Beach.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666087/bio/) She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Long Beach.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666087/bio/)
## Death
Patten died on May 1, 1996, of respiratory failure at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, at the age of 57.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-05-07-mn-1411-story.html) • [12](https://www.deseret.com/1996/5/13/19242188/actress-patten-dies-at-57/) Her sister Marcy survived her.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-05-07-mn-1411-story.html)
## References
1. [Luana Patten – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666087/bio/)
2. [Song of the South (film), D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/song-of-the-south-film/)
3. [Luana Patten as Ginny Favers, SongoftheSouth.net](https://songofthesouth.net/movie/biographies/patten.html)
4. [Luana Patten is Born, D23](https://d23.com/this-day/luana-patten-is-born/)
5. [Obituary: Luana Patten, by Dick Vosburgh, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/obituary-luana-patten-1346679.html)
6. [Luana Patten filmography, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/101764)
7. [Patten, Luana, D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/patten-luana/)
8. [Luana Patten profile, Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen](https://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/216/Luana%2BPatten/index.html)
9. [Luana Patten; Actress Began in Disney Films, Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1996](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-05-07-mn-1411-story.html)
10. [Childhood Personified: Walt and his Child Stars, Walt Disney Family Museum](https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/childhood-personified-walt-and-his-child-stars)
11. [Luana Patten biography, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/luana-patten)
12. [Actress Patten Dies at 57, Deseret News, May 13, 1996](https://www.deseret.com/1996/5/13/19242188/actress-patten-dies-at-57/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Child and young film performers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license