Betty Lou Keim, the actress who made a name for herself in the 1950s portraying rebellious teens, died Jan. 27 at her home in Chatsworth, CA after a battle with lung cancer, according to the Hollywood Reporter. She was 71.

Whenever Keim came on the screen, it usually meant trouble. She was a difficult daughter to Ginger Rogers in 1956's 'Teenage Rebel,' a pregnant teenager in 'These Wilder Years,' also from '56, and, perhaps her most famous role, Frank Sinatra's out-of-control niece in 1958's 'Some Came Running.' The roles all share a common theme of youthful rebellion and non-conformity, which is common now but was only starting to find its voice in the '50s. Betty Lou Keim, the actress who made a name for herself in the 1950s portraying rebellious teens, died Jan. 27 at her home in Chatsworth, CA after a battle with lung cancer, according to the Hollywood Reporter. She was 71.

Whenever Keim came on the screen, it usually meant trouble. She was a difficult daughter to Ginger Rogers in 1956's 'Teenage Rebel,' a pregnant teenager in 'These Wilder Years,' also from '56, and, perhaps her most famous role, Frank Sinatra's out-of-control niece in 1958's 'Some Came Running.' The roles all share a common theme of youthful rebellion and non-conformity, which is common now but was only starting to find its voice in the '50s.

Keim, who had a contracts with two studios, MGM and Fox, was born in Malden, Mass. and worked on Broadway before her Hollywood breakthrough in the Johnny Mercer 1949 musical 'Texas Li'l Darlin'.' Keim also worked on early television, appearing on the shows 'My Son Jeep,' 'The Philco Television Playhouse' and 'The Deputy' with Henry Fonda from 1959-61.

With her career in full bloom, Keim married actor Warren Berlinger in 1959 and retreated from public life to raise her family. Keim is survived by Berlinger, children Lisa, David, Edward and Elizabeth and eight grandchildren.

Donations in her name can be made to the Red Cross or the Motion Picture & Television Fund.