Manning was born as
Inez Harvuot on July 17, 1912 in
Cincinnati, Ohio, Manning performed with a four-woman USO show in England and the United States and recorded with
Glenn Miller and his Army Air Force Band. By the early 1940s, Irene was employed in the
Warner Bros. studio system as a contract actress and singer. She is probably best remembered as diva
Fay Templeton in
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), opposite
James Cagney. She also appeared in
The Dubarry,
Castle in the Air and
Serenade in London. She remained in England and appeared on her own
BBC TV show,
An American in England, until 1951, when she returned to the United States for television and nightclub work. Eventually she retired to teach acting and voice. == Personal life and death ==