[1] The daughter of machinist and politician George Nightingale and Violet Noseworthy, she was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and was educated there.
Paterson taught school for a time and then trained in nursing.
She joined the St. John's Players in 1954, won awards at several drama festivals in the province and performed on CBC radio.
She moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1972, where she performed with the Neptune Theatre Company.
[2] She played the role of Mary Mercer in David French's theatrical play Of the Fields, Lately in 1973,[3] and later reprised the role in Mike Newell's 1976 television adaptation.