In a city as prominent as Dallas, there is only one opportunity to make the right impression. Social elitists and big spenders are the wheels of fortune in the oil business, and to fail in Dallas was a stain of shame.

Ellie Southworth Ewing, or better known as "Miss Ellie", was the second wife of Jock Ewing, the man who founded Ewing Oil. When she was a younger woman, She had been involved with Jock's business enemy, Willard Barnes, but she chose to marry Jock because of financial desperation. With Jock, she had 3 sons, J.R, Bobby, and Gary, and later discovered she was the step-mother of Southfork Ranch foreman, Ray Krebbs.

Miss Ellie was with a heart the size of Texas, and she made many charitable contributions to her city. She became involved in land development issues and supported many organizations that assisted the less fortunate. She was the silent strength behind Ewing Oil Company, stepping in to save the company from J. R.'s crooked ways. A mother's love truly has no boundaries!

She experienced two major shocks that required her to depend on superhuman strength. In 1979, Miss Ellie was diagnosed with lumps in her breasts and underwent a mastectomy that saved her life. Even though she survived the cancer, her self-esteemed suffered because of the disfigurement. Discouraged but not defeated, Miss E developed a new passion for life.

In 1982 her husband Jock was supposedly killed in a helicopter crash while searching for oil in South America, but his body was never found. In 1986 a man by the name of Wes Parmalee came to her with the news that he was her late husband Jock. Apparently, he had survived the helicopter crash, but extensive plastic surgery had removed all recognizable features. (Fake, Liar, Hack, Moron)!

In 1990, Miss Ellie was taking a tour of the Orient with her second husband, Clayton. Deciding she didn't need any more money (or something), she never returned to Southfork Ranch.