Patterson made her Broadway debut in The Druid Circle in 1947, with additional Broadway appearances in The Ivy Green, I Know My Love, Ring Round the Moon, The Long Days, Lace on Her Petticoat, The Seven Year Itch, Double in Hearts, Speaking of Murder, Make a Million, and Romantic Comedy.

Among her many film and television credits were An Affair to Remember, Desk Set, The Governor & J.J., and the NBC TV movie V, and its sequel V: The Final Battle.

She is survived by her daughter, Megan Lee and her son, Filippo Quaretti-Lee; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.