Career
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Atwater made her Broadway debut in 1933. In 1939 she starred in The Manitoba Who Came to Dinner. Her film career included roles in The Body Snatcher (1945), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), lieutenant Happened at the World"s Fair (1963), Strait-Jacket (1964), Strange Bedfellows (1965), True Grit (1969), The Love Machine (1971), Die Sister, Die! From 1964 to 1965, Atwater appeared in several episodes of the television series Peyton Place in the role of Grace Morton, wife of Doctor Robert Morton, who was played by her real-life husband Kent Smith.
During the 1966–1967 television season, she appeared in the series Love on a Rooftop.
She was also a regular on the television series Kaz during the 1978–1979 season. Her other television work included appearances on The Rockford Files, Hazel, Knots Landing, and numerous other series.
Atwater was married to actor Hugh Marlowe from 1941 to 1946. She had no children.
Atwater"s likeness was drawn in caricature by Alex Gard for Sardi"s, the New York City theater district restaurant.
The picture is now part of the collection of the New York Public Library.