Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- Ann Rutherford , who played Scarlett O'Hara 's little sister Carreen in the 1939 classic movie `` Gone with the Wind , '' has died at age 94 , a close friend said Tuesday . She suffered heart problems and was hospitalized three months ago following a collapse , friend Anne Jeffreys told CNN . After struggling with deteriorating health , Rutherford died at her home in Beverley Hills , California , on Monday , Jeffreys said . `` Annie was a wonderful person , very philanthropic , and always trying to do something for somebody . A very funny lady , she said very funny things . She was one of a kind , '' said Jeffreys , who was with Rutherford when she died . Catching the 'Wind ' in Atlanta . Born in 1917 in Vancouver , Canada , Rutherford got off to an early start in show business . She made her stage debut in 1925 and appeared on screen for the first time in 1935 , according to a biography posted on IMDb.com . She came from a family of performers -- her father , John Rutherford , was a former Metropolitan Opera singer and her mother , Lillian Mansfield , was an actress , it says . Aside from her role as Carreen O'Hara , she won considerable fame playing the character Polly Benedict alongside Mickey Rooney in the `` Andy Hardy '' film series in the 1930s and early 1940s , the website says . After leaving the MGM studio , Rutherford played Gertrude Griswold in `` The Secret Life of Walter Mitty '' and Donna Elena in `` The New Adventures of Don Juan , '' and then appeared in a number of television shows . She retired after her last movie role in 1976 , the IMDb website says . But it is for her role in David Selznick 's Civil War epic `` Gone With the Wind '' that perhaps most people will remember Rutherford . Actress who played Bonnie Blue Butler in 'GWTW ' dies at 76 . She maintained a connection with the film in the decades that followed its release and appeared up until last year at events hosted by the `` Gone With the Wind '' Museum in Marietta , Georgia . `` In her last years here , 'Gone With the Wind ' really kept her going , '' Jeffreys said . `` She received thousands of fan letters for 'Gone With the Wind . ' And she donated things -- a script that she had gotten , a tea set that they used in the film , a necklace , things like that . ... It really was wonderful for the last part of her life , because she was in great demand . '' Rutherford is survived by a daughter , Gloria May , who lives in San Francisco , and two grandsons , Jeffreys said . At 75 , 'Gone with the Wind ' still attracts fans , cash and controversy . CNN 's Jane Caffrey contributed to this report .
Ann Rutherford played Carreen O'Hara in `` Gone With the Wind '' and she was a great actress. Rutherford also won over many fans with her role in the `` Andy Hardy '' series . `` She was one of a kind , '' says close friend Anne Jeffreys .