Nancy Kulp

Nancy Kulp was an American actress best known as Miss Jane Hathaway — the efficient, nature-loving secretary — on The Beverly Hillbillies (CBS, 1962–1971). She ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Pennsylvania in 1984, and her former co-star Buddy Ebsen publicly spoke against her candidacy. She was lesbian and lived with her partner for many years; her sexuality was known among colleagues but was not publicly disclosed during her career. Her story represents the absolute silence required of LGBTQ+ performers in American mainstream television's earliest decades.