Dixie Carter

Dixie Carter is a late American actress who was famous for her work on television, films, and stage. Carter's role of Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom Designing Women brought her to the stardom. She is also known for her role as Randi King on CBS drama series Family Law. Carter, who spent nearly five decades in the spotlight, died at the age of 70 in 2010.

Early Life And Education

Dixie Carter was born as the eldest of two children of Halbert Carter and Esther Virginia Hillsman on May 25, 1939, in McLemoresville, Tennessee. She had a sister, Melba Helen Heath. Carter spent most of her childhood days in Memphis, Mississippi.

Carter went to the University of Memphis and Rhodes College, where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. She competed in the Miss Tennessee pageant in 1959, which she ended as the first runner-up to Mickie Weyland. Later that year, Carter won the Miss Volunteer beauty pageant at the University of Tennessee.

Career

Dixie Carter started her acting career in 1960 in Memphis production of Carousel in which she worked alongside her future husband, George Hearn. In 1963, she moved to New York City and played in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. Carter took an eight-year-long hiatus from acting starting from 1967.

In 1974, she made her comeback as Dorian Cramer on One Life to Live. She replaced actress Nancy Pinkerton in the series when she was on maternity leave. She relocated to LA in 1976 and started working in primetime television shows. The same year, she won the Theater World Award for Jesse and the Bandit Queen.

From 1999 to 2002, Carter played the role of Randi Queen on legal drama Family Law. She was also a cast member of the short-lived sitcom Ladies Man from 1999 to 2000. Her portrayal of Gloria Hodge in Desperate Housewives further established her among the new generation of fans.

Her final film before her death was That Evening Sun in which she filmed alongside her husband Hal Holbrook in East Tennessee in Summer 2008.

Net Worth

Legendary actress Dixie Carter worked in dozens of television series, films, and stage production throughout her nearly five decades-long acting career. She is believed to be paid well for her acting roles through which she ama s sed a huge fanbase and earned a good sum of money. Her exact net worth before her death is not known till the date.

As per some online sources, Carter's net worth was in millions of dollars at the time of her death. Meanwhile, Carter's widower Hal Holbrook, who is 94 years old as of 2019, has an estimated net worth of $5 million.

Personal Life

Late actress Dixie Carter was married three times. In 1967, she married a businessman Arthur Carter. The couple gave birth to two daughters; Ginna Carter and Mary Dixie Carter, after which Carter left a break from acting for eight years. Arthur had three more children from his previous relationships.

After a decade long marital relationship, Carter and Arthur divorced in 1977, and married theater and television actor George Hearn the same year. She marriage to Hearn ended after two years.

Seven years after her second divorce, Carter married her third husband Hal Holbrook on May 27, 1984. Their relationship made headlines at that time because of their age gap of 14 years. After their marriage, they divided their time between their homes in Beverly Hills and McLemoresville, Tennessee.

Death

Dixie Carter died at the age of 70 on April 10, 2010, in Houston, Texas. Her husband Holbrook announced her death revealing she died due to the complications from endometrial cancer that she was diagnosed with in earlier 2010. She was buried in McLemoresville, Tennessee.

The Dixie Carter Performing Arts and Academic Enrichment Center in Huntington, Tennessee has been named in honor of Dixie Carter.