Born in Oklahoma, Vera Miles (born Vera Ralston, she had to change her name, as Republic Pictures' resident leading lady Vera Ralston got to Hollywood first) attended school in Pratt and Wichita, Kansas. Entering the beauty pageant circuit, she became "Miss Kansas" in 1948, and went to Hollywood soon soon after. She began landing small roles in minor films and in television. After a few such parts she was cast by John Ford as the spunky ingenue in the Western classic The Searchers (1956). More leading roles quickly followed, and for a brief period she shone in a number of major films. However much of her subsequent work, both in feature films and in television movies, has been in material considerably below her abilities.