[3][4] When Rowena was only six months old, her father sent a testimonial letter and photo of the infant to a goat milk company, praising the product she had been fed on since birth.
[1] The company printed both the photo and letter in a Chicago-area newspaper advertisement, preserving the details of Heath's birth and foreshadowing her life in the public eye.
[1] Although his patents brought him a substantial income in the 1920s, Heath's father proved a poor investor and was reduced to designing homemade games and toys for local kids in the 1930s.
[6] After graduating from the University of Washington School of Drama, Heath moved to Manhattan in July 1949, where she lived at the Rehearsal Club.
Heath lived here, helped by a $75 a month subsidy from her parents, until her second Broadway stage job enabled her to get her own apartment.
[7] Heath first appeared on the Broadway stage as a replacement in the role of "Ensign Sue Yeager" for South Pacific during late 1950.
Heath, however, left half way thru the run when she caught the eye of director Vincente Minnelli, who signed her for his next MGM film, Brigadoon.
[15] She replaced the original female lead Barbara Baxley as "Mildred Turner" during July 1954, and continued in the role until the show closed in November 1954.
[16] Heath did her first television acting role in January 1953, on an episode of the New York based CBS mystery series The Web.
[citation needed] From 1954 to 1959, Heath was linked in gossip columns with circus owner John Ringling North, who was twenty five years older.
[31] The variant spelling "Dodie" can be traced back to syndicated newspaper columnist George Hamilton Combs Jr in March 1951.