Constance Dowling was born on July 24, 1920, in New York City, and raised there. She was one of four children, with a younger sister, Doris Dowling, who also pursued a career in show business, while her two brothers, Richard and Robert, did not. Constance attended Wadleigh High School for Girls and later took classes at the New Theatre School.
She began her career as a model, chorus girl, and nightclub dancer, lying about her age at the time. She then started appearing in Broadway productions, including "Quiet City" directed by Elia Kazan, with whom she had a major affair. She went on to appear in several other productions, including "Liliom", "Panama Hattie" with her sister Doris, "Hold On to Your Hats" with Al Jolson, and "The Strings, My Lord, Are False".
In 1943, Constance moved to California to test her luck in films. She was briefly favored by mogul Samuel Goldwyn as one of his "Goldwyn Girls" and was given the prime role of sweet nurse and love interest Mary Morgan in Danny Kaye's second musical movie vehicle "Up in Arms" in 1944. She also appeared in "Knickerbocker Holiday" in the same year, starring alongside Nelson Eddy.
When Goldwyn lost interest in Constance, she moved on and earned a second femme lead in the romantic comedy "The Well Groomed Bride" in 1946, starring Olivia de Havilland, and the femme lead in the Universal film noir "Black Angel" in the same year, co-starring Dan Duryea and June Vincent. She was next loaned to Columbia to play a revengeful escaped jailbird and femme fatale in the crime drama "Boston Blackie and the Law" in 1946, starring Chester Morris, and then paired up with Morris again in the crimer "Blind Spot" in 1947.
Once she started moving further down the credits list, Constance decided to move to Italy and try and maintain her leading lady career there. She became the first American actress to work exclusively in Italian films, alongside her sister Doris. She appeared in a number of dramatic showcases while there, including "Mad About Opera", "Escape", "Addio MimÃ!", "Una voce nel tuo cuore", "Miss Italia", and "Duel Without Honor".
Returning to the United States, Constance studied at the Actor's Studio and focused on TV and appeared in a number of anthologies and a couple of films, including "Gog" in 1954, co-starring Richard Egan. She married Ivan Tors in 1953 and retired from acting. They had four sons and an adopted child from Kenya. During the 1960s, she worked as a guide at the Dolphin Laboratory in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Constance passed away on October 28, 1969, at the age of 49, due to a heart attack.
