Actress Ruth Hussey, nominated for an Oscar for the 1940 classic "The Philadelphia Story," has died in California at age 93.

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Her son said Hussey died Tuesday at Mary Health of the Sick Convalescent Home in Newbury Park of complications from an appendectomy, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Hussey's played James Stewart's girlfriend in "The Philadelphia Story" and lost the best-supporting actress Oscar to Jane Darwell's portrayal of Ma Joad in "The Grapes of Wrath."

Ruth Carol Hussey was born Oct. 30, 1911, in Providence, R.I., and graduated from Pembroke Women's College at Brown University. She studied acting at the University of Michigan.

She began her career as a fashion commentator on local radio and later was a model in New York for the famed Powers agency.

After Hussey began acting, she became a contract player for MGM when she was spotted by a talent scout while in Los Angeles with the road tour of "Dead End."

She is survived by two sons, one daughter, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.