Lansbury, Angela 1925-
US actress

Born in London, she was evacuated to the USA in 1940. Signed to a contract with MGM, she made her film debut in Gaslight (1944), for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination. A versatile and talented performer, she subsequently appeared in such films as National Velvet (1944), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) and State of the Union (1948). She made her Broadway debut in Hotel Paradiso (1957) and later emerged as a leading stage star in the musical Mame (1966, Tony award). Her subsequent stage work includes Dear World (1969, Tony), Prettybelle (1971), Gypsy (1974, Tony), Hamlet (1975) and Sweeney Todd (1979, Tony). On film, she became a scene-stealing character in the likes of All Fall Down (1961), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Death on the Nile (1978) and The Company of Wolves (1984), in which she played 'Granny'. She found her greatest popularity on television as the star of the mystery series Murder She Wrote (1984-96). She has also appeared in numerous television films and mini-series including Mrs 'Arris Goes to Paris (1992) and Mrs Santa Claus (1996).