Anne Whitfield, best known for her role as Susan Waverly in the 1954 film White Christmas, has passed away.

Whitfield was only fifteen when she landed her most iconic role, that of the granddaughter of Dean Jagger's General Waverly in White Christmas. Fans of the holiday classic know that the plot of the film revolves around Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye's song-and-dance man characters trying to save the failing inn owned by the beloved general they served under during the war. The general's granddaughter, Susan, allows "the old man" to show a gentler, more domestic side.

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How well do you know the Bing Crosby movie, White Christmas?

Whitfield was born into show business. Her father was a marching band director for the University of Mississippi, and her mother taught speech and drama at a junior college. Later, she would tutor the kids on the set of The Brady Bunch.

The young actress found work on the radio before landing her role on White Christmas, with roles on programs like The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, Our Miss Brooks and Mr. and Mrs. Blandings.

Following the movie, she appeared all over TV with roles in The Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best, Gunsmoke, and more. She appeared in the Dragnet episode "Internal Affairs: DR-20", where the show crossed over with Adam-12.

She appeared three times on Perry Mason, twice as Perry's client accused of murder, in season seven's "The Case of the Ugly Duckling" and season eight's "The Case of the Nautical Knot". She also appeared in the second-to-last episode of the series, the famously dark "The Case of the Crafty Kidnapper".

In the 1970s, Whitfield decided to step away from Hollywood and went back to school to earn a degree in communications. She went on to have a career in the Department of Ecology for the State of Washington, ran a bed and breakfast, and became a climate activist.

Whitfield passed away at the age of 85.