Tallichet came to California from her native Texas in 1936 seeking a career in the movie business. According to her obituary in the Los Angeles Times, she was working in the publicity department at Paramount Pictures when she was befriended by actress Carole Lombard. She was introduced to producer David O. Selznick, who gave her a screen test for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. She was initially cast for the role of Scarlett's sister Careen O'Hara, but the role was ultimately given to Ann Rutherford. Selznick also cast her in a minor uncredited role in A Star is Born. At the outset of her acting career, she also appeared in A Desperate Adventure and Girls' School.
Marriage and family
In 1938, an agent introduced her to Goldwyn Pictures director William Wyler, who had been divorced from his first wife, Margaret Sullavan, since 1936. Three weeks later, on October 23, 1938, they were married, at the lakeside home of Walter Huston. Before the United States entered World War II, both Tallichet and Wyler continued to work. She appeared in Stand Up and Fight, Stranger on the Third Floor, It Started with Eve, and The Devil Pays Off. The latter film was released in November 1941 when she was pregnant with her second child. She did not return to the screen. Even before the United States entered the war, her husband was an outspoken advocate for the defense of Great Britain. His first Oscar-winning film, Mrs. Miniver, was a sympathetic portrayal of an English family enduring the Battle of Britain. After completing that film, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps and flew in missions over Europe in order to make documentaries about them. At the 1943 Academy Awards program, Margaret accepted, in her husband's absence, his Academy Award for Best Director in Mrs. Miniver. She and Wyler were parents of five children: Catherine Wyler, Judy Wyler, David Wyler, Melanie Ann Wyler and William Wyler Jr.. They remained married for 43 years, only ending with her husband's death. She was the sister of aviator and restaurateur David Tallichet Jr.
Death
She died on May 3, 1991, at age 77. According to her New York Times obituary, the cause of her death was cancer.
