Canerday is a native of Russellville, Arkansas. After earning a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Theatre in 1985 from Hendrix College[2] (where she performed in plays with Herman's Head star William Ragsdale), she began her motion picture career as a production secretary for the television feature The Tuskegee Airmen, then made minor appearances in films such as Biloxi Blues and Walk the Line. Her most famous roles have been as protagonists' harried mothers in Sling Blade and October Sky. In 1996,