Background
Sothern was born Sara Viola Warmbrodt in Arkansas City, Kansas, the daughter of Elizabeth Ann (née Wilson. February 10, 1864 – February 7, 1932) and Samuel Sylvester Warmbrodt (October 8, 1861 – January 6, 1948).
Sothern was born Sara Viola Warmbrodt in Arkansas City, Kansas, the daughter of Elizabeth Ann (née Wilson. February 10, 1864 – February 7, 1932) and Samuel Sylvester Warmbrodt (October 8, 1861 – January 6, 1948).
Her paternal grandfather, Samuel Warmbrodt, was from Switzerland. Sothern was a seasoned actress by the time she made her Broadway debut in The Dagger (1925). That was followed by Arabesque and Fool"s Bells that same year.
She next appeared in Mama Loves Papa (1926).
During that time, she acted in plays across the country, including the theatre venues of Downtown Los Los Angeles They were the parents of Howard Taylor (born 1929) and the movie star Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011).
Sothern died at age 99 in Palm Springs.