Ann Rutherford (born November 2, 1920) is a Canadian-American actress in film, radio, and television. She has had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict on the big screen of the 1930s and 1940s, and on The Bob Newhart Show as Newhart's character's mother-in-law.

Her first film role was in Waterfront Lady in 1935. She appeared in eighteen films between 1935 and 1937. It was in 1937 that her first notable role came as Andy Hardy's girlfriend, Polly Benedict, in You're Only Young Once. In the long-running, Academy Award-winning Andy Hardy film series, she played Polly twelve times, with the last appearance being in Andy Hardy's Double Life in 1942.

She was born Therese Ann Rutherford to a former Metropolitan Opera tenor and an actress in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. At an early age, she performed in various radio shows. She began her film career in starring roles in Waterfront Lady for Mascot Pictures in 1935. Mascot merged with Republic Pictures, and Miss Rutherford soon established herself as a popular leading lady of Westerns with Gene Autry and John Wayne. Afterward, she was placed under contract with MGM. At MGM, she appeared in such films as A Christmas Carol (1938) and Pride and Prejudice (1940). She was loaned to Selznick International to appear as Carreen O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939).

From 1937 until 1942, she portrayed Polly Benedict in the very successful Andy Hardy series. She also starred in a series of mystery/comedies with Red Skelton, Whistling in the Dark (1941), Whistling in Dixie (1942), and Whistling in Brooklyn (1943).

She left MGM to freelance in the early 1940s, starring in such films as Orchestra Wives (1942) (with the Glenn Miller Orchestra), Two O'Clock Courage (1945) and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947).

She retired from films in 1950, but returned to her old studio in 1972 to make They Only Kill Their Masters. Ironically (given the film's grisly name), the film was shot on the old Andy Hardy set.

On radio, Ann Rutherford replaced Penny Singleton as Blondie.

She was supposed to make a comeback out of retirement to play Rose Calvert in the 1997 blockbuster movie Titanic (1997), but turned down the role, which went to Gloria Stuart.

In October 2004, she made a guest appearance with many fans at the Margaret Mitchell Birthday in Jonesboro, Georgia, to honor Gone With the Wind, and she even signed autographs and reminisced old times at this historic event.

On November 2, 2005, Rutherford celebrated her 85th birthday surrounded by her fans & friends at a luncheon in Beverly Hills, California. Neither Evelyn Keyes (who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease) nor Olivia de Havilland, two of her surviving Gone with the Wind co-stars, was able to attend.

Rutherford was married twice. On Christmas Eve, 1942, she married David May, and the couple had a girl, Gloria May, in 1943. They were divorced in 1953, and in that same year, she married William Dozier, who went on to produce the Batman TV series. Dozier died in 1991.

Ann Rutherford was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on November 2, 1920. The daughter of a former Metropolitan Opera singer, John Rutherford and her actress mother, Lillian Mansfield, was destined for show business. Not long after her birth, her family moved to California where she made her stage debut in 1925. Ann appeared in many plays and on radio for the next nine years before making her first screen appearance in Carnival in Paris (1937) in 1934. Ann's talent, which was readily apparent, was signed to three films in 1935--Waterfront Lady (1935), Melody Trail (1935) and Fighting Marines, The (1935). By now, she was a leading lady in the fabled Westerns with two legends--John Wayne (I) and Gene Autry (I). By the time Ann was seventeen, she inked a deal with MGM, where she would gain the status of superstar for her portrayal of "Polly Benedict" in the popular "Andy Hardy" series with Mickey Rooney (I). Ann's first role as "Polly" was in 1938, in You're Only Young Once (1937). Three more Hardy films were produced that same year such as Out West with the Hardys (1938), Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)Judge Hardy's Children (1938). Ann did find time to play in other productions too. One which is still loved today was the Charles Dickens' classic, Christmas Carol, A (1938), where she played the sweet role of the Spirit of Christmas Past. In 1939, Ann played the role of "Annie Hawks" in Of Human Hearts (1938) in addition to three more Andy Hardy films. But that year also saw Ann land a role in the most popular film in film history. She played "Careen O'Hara", Scarlet's little sister, in Gone with the Wind (1939). Plenty of fans of the Andy Hardy series went to see it for Ann herself. Obviously the film was, unquestionably, a super hit. She, then, resumed making other movies. While working for MGM, Ann, along with the other stars, were under the watchful eye of movie mogul, Louis B. Mayer. Mayer was no different than any other film tycoon, except for the fact that he ran the classiest studio in Hollywood: the bottom line was profit and one couldn't really maximize profits unless they kept performers salaries minimized as much as possible. Most tried to get raises and failed. Even Mickey Rooney (I) was turned down and was decidedly underpaid during his glory years at MGM. But not Ann Rutherford. When she asked for a raise, she took out her bankbook and, showing the amount it contained, told Mayer she had promised her mother a new house. Ann got her raise. In 1942 at the age of 22, Ann appeared in her last Andy Hardy film which was Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942). She then left MGM and free-lanced her talent. Still Ann was in demand. In 1943, she appeared in Happy Land (1943), but it was a little later in her career when she appeared in two big hits. In 1947, she played "Gertrude Griswold" in Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The (1947) and as "Donna Elena" in Adventures of Don Juan (1948) in 1948. After that film, Ann appeared in several TV programs and didn't return to the silver screen until 1972 in They Only Kill Their Masters (1972). Her last came in 1976 in the dismal Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976), whereupon she retired. Ann was approached to play the older Rose in 1998's mega-hit Titanic (1997), but turned it down. Today she, happily, enjoy's her retirement and still is deluged with fan mail.