Editing Teresa Wright (section)

==Early life==
Muriel Teresa Wright was born on October 27, 1918, in New York City,<ref name="independent-vallance"/> the daughter of Martha Espy and Arthur Hendricksen Wright, an insurance agent.{{cn|date=September 2023}}{{sfn|Spoto|2016|pp=12–15}} Her parents separated when she was young. She grew up in [[Maplewood, New Jersey]], where she attended [[Columbia High School (New Jersey)|Columbia High School]].<ref name="independent-vallance"/> After seeing [[Helen Hayes]] star in ''Victoria Regina'' at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City in 1936, Wright took an interest in acting and began playing leading roles in school plays.<ref name="nytimes-martin"/>

Wright earned a scholarship to the Wharf Theater in [[Provincetown, Massachusetts|Provincetown]], Massachusetts, where she was an apprentice for two summers.<ref name="independent-vallance"/><ref name="nytimes-martin"/> Following her high school graduation in 1938, she went to New York, shortened her name to "Teresa Wright", and was hired as understudy to [[Dorothy McGuire]] and [[Martha Scott]] for the role of Emily in [[Thornton Wilder]]'s stage production of ''[[Our Town]]'' at [[Stephen Sondheim Theatre|Henry Miller's Theatre]].{{cn|date=September 2023}} Wright took over the role when Scott left for Hollywood to film the on-screen version of the play.<ref name="independent-vallance"/>