Ann Willis Ratray

Ann Willis Ratray was an American actress and acting coach.

A native of Cranston, Rhode Island, Ratray was named “Miss Congeniality” in the 1958 Miss America Pageant, and used the prize money to attend New York’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Her first major acting role came in 1964 in a production of Separate Rooms at the Allenbury Playhouse in Harrisburg, PA, opposite actor Peter Ratray, who would become her husband. She would go on to appear in 1968 on Broadway in Mame starring Angela Lansbury, a 1981 revival of George Bernard Shaw’s Candida starring Joanne Woodward, and, in 2003, served as a consultant on Bobbi Boland, a play about an aging Miss America starring Farrah Fawcett.

Throughout the 1970s, Ratray and her husband lived in Los Angeles working in TV and theater. The Ratrays appeared together in the movie Last Train to Hollywood portraying singers Jeanette McDonald and Nelson Eddy.

In 1990, Ratray’s son Devin was cast as Buzz, the brother of Macaulay Culkin’s character, in the movie Home Alone. As Devin’s acting coach, Ratray found her next career. She rose to be the most sought-after drama teacher for young actors in New York. Casting directors regularly looked to her for new talent.

Among Ann Ratray’s many former students were Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie), Kaitlyn Nichol (black-ish), YaYa DaCosta (Chicago Med) and David Alvarez, who will appear in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming West Side Story.

Ratray died June 9, 2021, in New York City, New York. She was 76.