Angela Lansbury

Angela Brigid Lansbury is an English actress and singer whose career spans stage, screen and television.

Born 16 October 1925 in London, she moved with her family to New York City in 1940. Her first film roles were in Gaslight and The Picture of Dorian Gray, both of which brought her nominations for Best Supporting Actress. She went on to extensive work in film, on television and on the stage, eventually earning five Tony Awards (and two nominations), six Golden Globes, another Best Supporting Actress nomination and 19 Emmy Award nominations. In 1994, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Additional memorable film roles came in National Velvet, The Harvey Girls, Nanny McPhee, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Beauty and the Beast, The Court Jester and The Manchurian Candidate. On Broadway, she won acclaim in Mame, Gypsy and Sweeney Todd. On television, she is best known as the star of Murder, She Wrote.

Her career provides examples of:

 * Evil Matriarch: In The Manchurian Candidate.
 * Golden Age of Hollywood: When her career began.
 * Grande Dame: In Nanny McPhee.
 * Happily Married: To Peter Shaw for 54 years.
 * Hollywood Old: Frequently cast as characters older than her actual age.
 * The Ingenue: In The Picture of Dorian Gray.
 * Kindly Housekeeper: In Beauty and the Beast.
 * Knight Fever: She is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
 * Little Old Lady Investigates: Her role on Murder, She Wrote and in The Mirror Crack'd as well as 1999 Made for TV Movie based on the Mrs. Pollifax books.
 * Playing Gertrude: She is rather well-known for this.
 * The Vamp: In Gaslight.