death_date children family nationality birth_date residence education alma_mater death_place home_town spouse image name occupation death_cause caption resting_place years_active birth_place awards party known_for article_title birth_name television
10 april 2010 from carter : ginna carter , mary dixie carter melba helen heath -lrb- sister -rrb- american 25 may 1939 beverly hills , california , mclemoresville , tennessee rhodes college university of tennessee at knoxville , university of memphis houston , texas mclemoresville , tennessee arthur daughters -rrb- george hearn 1977 1979 -lrb- divorced -rrb- hal l. holbrook 1984 2010 -lrb- her death -rrb- carter 1967 1977 -lrb- divorced ; two dixie carter 1977.jpg dixie carter actress endometrial cancer carter in 1977 mclemoresville cemetery , mclemoresville , tennessee 1960 -- 2010 mclemoresville , tennessee '' see awards and nominations '' republican julia sugarbaker , randi king , gloria hodge dixie carter
 dixie virginia carter '' women '' , '' family law '' , '' desperate diff housewives '' ` rent strokes '' , '' designing
dixie carter

dixie virginia carter -lrb- may 25 , 1939 -- april 10 , 2010 -rrb- was an american film , television , and stage actress .
from 1986 to 1993 , she starred as julia sugarbaker in the cbs sitcom '' designing women '' .
carter made her professional stage debut in a memphis production of the musical `` carousel '' in 1960 , before moving to new york in 1963 .
in 1974 , she made her broadway debut in the musical `` sextet '' .
after appearing for two years as district attorney brandy henderson on the cbs soap `` the edge of night '' -lrb- 1974 -- 76 -rrb- , she returned to broadway in the 1976 musical `` pal joey '' .
in 1997 , she starred as maria callas in the broadway play `` master class '' .
she then starred as randi king on the cbs legal drama `` family law '' -lrb- 1999 -- 2002 -rrb- and as gloria hodge on the abc series `` desperate housewives '' -lrb- 2006 -- 07 -rrb- , for which she received an emmy award nomination .
