The daughter of a Texas judge, Martha Hyer majored in speech and drama at Northwestern University. Her work at the Pasadena Playhouse led to a 1946 contract with RKO. Free from her contract in 1951, Hyer free-lanced in films made both in the U.S. and abroad. She earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of a prim small schoolteacher in Some Came Running (1958), but has also played hot to trot roles in films like Pyro (1966) and spoiled-little-rich-girl types in films such as The Happening (1967).