Trivia

To help her brother enter Yale, Mona took it upon herself to find modeling work and became a successful teenage cover girl for John Robert Powers. She also became one of the "Miss Subway" girls in New York.

After her divorce, she was known to have been seen around town with Nicky Rothschild, Vic Damone, Robert Wagner and Frank Sinatra.

Was in a relationship with Bing Crosby after the death of his wife Dixie Lee. They might have married but both were Catholic, and she was divorced.

Howard Hughes discovered her and gave her a two-year contract after seeing one of her photographs on a magazine cover. Frustrated that she was not cast in anything, Paramount wound up buying out her contract from Hughes, having never done a bit of work for the eccentric mogul.

She was cast in Angel Face (1952), an RKO/Howard Hughes production.

Her hobbies include portrait and landscape painting. She painted the well-known portrait of Mary See, the co-founder of See's Candies. According to the company this painting can be found in every one of their stores.

Perenially young bobbysoxer of post-war Paramount, she played teens long after she outgrew the roles, and it later stifled her adult career.

The 18-year-old's first role was as Barbara Stanwyck's teen stepdaughter in Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944) but she photographed so young, she was replaced by Jean Heather. She still made her debut in the movie, however, when she was instead handed a one-line bit part as Edward G. Robinson's secretary. She was also cast to play Elizabeth Taylor's older sister in National Velvet (1944) but once again was replaced (by Angela Lansbury) because she did not look old enough. In truth, Mona was six years Taylor's senior.

First husband was Pat Nerney, a wealthy Hollywood auto dealer. They had a daughter, Mona, Jr., called Monie, in 1947.

Her second husband (since June of 1961), Jack Ellis, was a Los Angeles businessman. He officially adopted Mona's daughter, from an earlier marriage, who entered show business as Monie Ellis.

Mona was chosen "Miss Subway" on May 1, 1941. Miss Subway was a promotion run by John Robert Powers. Woman who were selected, only reigned for a month at a time. The promotion was a method Powers used to promote his modeling agency and the New York Subway System.

Mona starred in one and guest-starred in the other TV series with the same title, Branded. Although both were Westerns, the story-line was different. The Branded movie starred Alan Ladd and she played Ruth Lavery.

(1966) The Branded TV series - McCord's Way starred Chuck Conners (Jason McCord) and Mona played Dora Kendall. (1950)

Of English, Irish and French heritage. Her father, Stuart Freeman, was a contractor.

Applied for the lead in The Blue Lagoon (1949) but Paramount denied lending her to the J. Arthur Rank Organization for the amount of money the British company demanded.

Mother, with ex-husband Pat Nerney, of actress Monie Ellis.

Wanted the lead in Roman Holiday (1953), but the creators wanted an unknown.

She got her part in the film Danjger Signal as a replacement for Ann Blyth who had injured her back.