Brenda Joyce was born Betty Leabo in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, February 25, 1917. Her father nicknamed her Graftina. She and her mother moved to Los Angeles when Brenda was five. Educated at San Bernadino and Los Angeles High Schools, she attended one semester at USC and three more at UCLA. She became a photographer's model to pay for her college expenses, and it was from a fashion magazine that she came to the notice of 20th Century Fox for the role of Fern Simon in The Rains Came (39). She was 5' 4", weighed 110 -112 pounds, with brown eyes and blonde hair.

Betty Leabo took the name Joyce from Alice Joyce, a silent screen star. Her off-screen interests included gardening (she was one of Hollywood's best horticulturists), art, and she even unearthed a fossil deposit in the San Fernando Valley while working on Maryland (40). Her interests extended to an army husband, Owen Ward, a college sweetheart, whom she married in 1941, much against the wishes of her studio, and it has been suggested that this move accounted for her relegation to the "B" movie ranks. In 1942, she had a daughter, Pamela Ann, an event which reportedly cost her the female lead in the Laurel and Hardy vehicle A-Haunting We Will Go, a part which went to Sheila Ryan, but the truth was she simply did not want the part.

After her second child, Timothy Owen was born, Sol Lesser coaxed her back to the screen, promising her that as her contract called for only one picture a year, she would have plenty of time to spend with her growing family.

Johnny Weissmuller approved of Brenda Joyce for the part of Jane. She was not afraid to work with animals, swam reasonably well and his only complaint was that she scared him stiff with her driving. Because of the gas rationing, each took turns motoring to location. Johnny quipped: "I'd feel safer riding an elephant or a camel."

He was also concerned about the reaction of the kids to seeing a blonde Jane. But the Weissmuller-Joyce chemistry worked well. Indeed, Brenda Joyce has always been my personal favourite Jane. (Sorry, folks!!)

Brenda and her family made their home in Laguna Beach after completing Tarzan's Magic Fountain (48), with Lex Barker, and although her marriage to Owen came to an end, she continued to live there under the name Betty Ward.

Later Brenda suffered through a series of personal problems before becoming involved with a catholic diocese in Los Angeles.

She excelled at her new job, and eventually became director of the Catholic Resettlement Office in Monterey, a post she held for ten and a half years, before retiring. She now lives in Oregon.

Brenda had three children with Owen Ward. In addition to Pamela Ann and Timothy Owen, Brenda has another daughter, Beth Victoria.

Johnny Sheffield in an interview stated his opinion of Brenda as Jane. "Brenda was sincere in her portrayal of Jane and she was always considerate and kind to me. We got along swimmingly from the start. I think you can see that in the films."

But Brenda, like Maureen O'Sullivan, was not proud of her work in the Tarzan features, and her co-workers at the Resettlement Office were unaware for years of her role as Jane. But as with Maureen, Brenda will probably be remembered by posterity for her role as Tarzan's mate, and from where I stand, that isn't such a bad destiny.

biography: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0431502/

Tarzan and the Leopard Woman