Jean Alexander's acting career began in high school in Rochester, where she was already performing while still a student. After graduating, she joined Stanley Woolf's Civic Drama Guild of New York for a national tour of "Junior Miss" in 1945.
She continued her training as an actor under the guidance of renowned instructors such as Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg, and was later inducted as a Lifetime Member of the Actors Studio in 1951.
Alexander's impressive list of credits includes numerous stage productions, both on and off Broadway, as well as various films, including the classic noir "The Mob" in 1951.
On television, she appeared in a wide range of shows, including the United States Steel Hour, The Philco Television Playhouse, Kraft Theatre, Studio One, Decoy, Martin Kane, Ryan's Hope, and Quincy, M.E.
In addition to her on-screen work, Alexander also made hundreds of television commercials, earning her widespread recognition as "The Savarin Girl" for over five years of award-winning advertisements for Savarin Coffee on NBC's Saturday Night News from 1950 to 1955.
The Improvisors, a group that included Alexander, Larry Blyden, and Ross Martin, appeared on the improv TV show "What Happens Now?" on New York's WOR-TV from 1949 to 1950. Alexander also hosted her own local show, "Jean Alexander's Pet Party," on Channel 7, which received an NYU award for best children's program.
In more recent years, Alexander appeared in films such as "Old Days" (2008),"Chicken" (2008),and "Underwear" (2009),which won three film-festival awards. Her last performances were in video sketches for HBO and The Onion from 2010 to 2011.
In her personal life, Alexander was married twice, first to Jules Alexander from 1950 to 1952, and then to Arnold Schulman from 1954 to 1974.
