Ann Sheridan Genealogy
(aka, Clara Lou Sheridan)Are You Related?

Born Clara Lou Sheridan on February 21, 1915, in Denton, Texas, Ann Sheridan was an American actress who got her big break when she earned the "Search for Beauty" contest that won her a screen test with Paramount Pictures. After a few bit parts--and a name change to Ann--the studio christened her with the nickname "the Oomph girl" (which Sheridan despised). Along with Betty Grable, she was one of the favorite pinups of her time. Known for her ability to play both sweet and tough, her most famous role was opposite Cary Grant in I Was a Male War Bride in 1949. Though she retired in the '50s, she made a comeback in the '60s on the soap opera Another World and the western series Pistols 'n' Petticoats. She passed away from esophagus and liver cancer on January 21, 1967.

Ann Sheridan's last name, "Sheridan," is an Irish/Gaelic name that means "elf-like" and refers to the town of Siridean near the Irish Midlands where the family originally comes from. Other spellings include "O'Sheridan," "Sheridon," and "Sheridin." The first known Sheridan to settle in America was Bernard Sheridan in Philadelphia in 1805.