Marta Heflin (March 29, 1945 – September 18, 2013) was an American actress who appeared in several Robert Altman films, including Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean and A Perfect Couple.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} Known for her waifish appearance, Heflin also acted in various New York stage musicals prior to her film career, such as Fiddler on the Roof, Hair, and Jesus Christ Superstar.^[2]

Marta was the daughter of American theatre producer and journalist Julia Heflin and public relations executive Martin Heflin.^[2] She was the niece of Oscar-winning actor Van Heflin and actress Frances Heflin.^[1]

After struggling with prolonged illness, Heflin died in Manhattan at the age of 68.^[1] In 2014, the Marta Heflin Foundation, a private grant-making foundation that supports the work of other charitable organizations, was set up as part of her legacy.^[6]

After appearing in a number of stage musicals in New York in the 1960s and 70s, Heflin made her transition to the small screen in the soap opera The Doctors.^[2] Next came a supporting role as Quentin in Frank Pierson's 1976 remake of A Star Is Born, starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.^[7] After working with director Robert Altman in the comedy of manners A Wedding (1978), Heflin was handpicked to replace actress Sandy Dennis in the role of Sheila Shea, a rock singer who dates an older Greek-American businessman after meeting him through a videotape computer dating service, in Altman's film A Perfect Couple (1979).^[1]

In the 1980s, Heflin appeared in two TV movies: Playing for Time (1980), a drama set in a concentration camp starring Vanessa Redgrave, and The Gentleman Bandit (1981), which followed a priest falsely accused of a string of armed robberies.^[2] In 1982, Heflin reunited with Altman for the Broadway production of Ed Graczyk's play Come Back to the Five and Dime, in which she played Edna Louise, a member of an all-female fan club named the Disciples of James Dean.^[1] She reprised the role in Altman's film adaptation of the play later that year.^[1]

In 2014, the Marta Heflin Foundation was established to support the work of other charitable organizations.^[6] Heflin's private Foundation has since awarded PAWS NY with a $10,000 grant for its Foster and Emergency Care Program, which provides care for pets whose guardians are facing health emergencies of their own.^[8]

Marta Heflin at IMDb