 Her many memorable screen roles include a supporting role as Joan Crawford's wise-cracking friend in "Mildred Pierce" (1945), for which she received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress; and as James Stewart's wistful secretary in Otto Preminger's mystery "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959) (which also featured her husband, Brooks West).In 1946, exhibitors voted her the sixth-most promising "star of tomorrow".Arden became familiar to a new generation of filmgoers when she played Principal McGee in "Grease" (1978) and "Grease 2 (1982)".