 Born and raised in North Carolina, Loden began her career at an early age in New York City as a commercial model and chorus-line dancer.Loden became a regular sidekick on the irreverent "Ernie Kovacs Television Show" in the mid-1950s and was a lifetime member of the famed Actors Studio.She appeared in several projects directed by her second husband, Elia Kazan, including "Splendor in the Grass" (1961).