Audrey Gwendoline Long was born on April 14, 1922 in Orlando, Florida, the first-born child of English parents. Her father, Christopher Stanley Long, was an Episcopal minister, a naturalized American citizen who served as a chaplain with the United States Navy; her mother Ellen Gwendoline Erskine. She spent some time in Hawaii where her younger brother John Stanley Long was born. She was educated at St. Margaret’s School in Tappahannock, Virginia, Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, California, and Disputanta High School, Virginia. She worked as a model before becoming an actress.

In 1942, Long made her screen debut in The Male Animal playing a student. That same year she was cast as a receptionist in Yankee Doodle Dandy. Other bit parts followed in 1943. In May 1943, Long played the character Dora Applegate in the Broadway production Sons and Soldiers. She returned to film work the following year, cast as Clara Cardell, the female lead opposite John Wayne in Tall in the Saddle. In 1945, she performed in another Western film, Wanderer of the Wasteland, playing Jeanie Collinshaw.

In January 1945, Long married Edward Rubin, a dialogue director. They divorced in 1951. On April 26 the next year, in California, Long married Leslie Charteris, a British novelist best known for his works chronicling the adventures of Simon Templar in the literary series The Saint. The couple traveled extensively during their marriage, with Charteris using their travel locations as settings for his Saint novels. The two remained together for over 40 years, until Leslie’s death in 1993.

In 1947, Long had featured roles in two films noir, Desperate and Born to Kill. She appeared in several low-budget films from 1948 through 1951. In 1952, Long made her last film, Indian Uprising, playing the role of Norma Clemson. She retired from acting that year.

Long died on September 19, 2014 in Surrey, England. Upon her death, she was cremated and her ashes were placed in a large urn which contains the ashes of her late husband Leslie Charteris. The inscription on the urn reads “Love Never Dies”.