Mary Badham (Scout)
Mary Badham is an American actress, known for her role as Jean Louise “Scout” Finch in the award-winning film version of Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). This was her debut appearance in film, after that original, unforgettable starring role, she went on to play parts in This Property Is Condemned (1966) and Our Very Own (2005).
Badham became an art restorer, and also a college-testing coordinator, leaving her acting days behind her. She married Richard Wilt in 1975, and they had two children. Beyond her work and home life, she still has ties to her appearance on To Kill a Mockingbird. She travels around the world, speaking about the book and its message of tolerance, and she also was in attendance for the 50th Anniversary screening of To Kill a Mockingbird with President Obama, in 2014. The following year, she also defended Harper Lee’s just-released Go Set a Watchman, not long before Lee’s own death.
“Mockingbird came at the perfect time for our country,” Badham explained. “It allowed us the ability to discuss subjects rationally and intelligently without getting way up here,” she paused to wave her hand above her head, “and now that things are way up here with our country, I think this will help a lot.”
