Angela Lansbury biography

Synopsis

Actress Angela Lansbury was born on October 16, 1925, in London. Known for taking on various roles in film, television and on stage, Lansbury was nominated for an Academy Award after appearing in her first film after moving to the U.S., Gaslight (1944). She continued to act in flims during the '60s and '70s before making her way to television. In 1984, she played the part of Jessica Fletcher in the popular series Murder, She Wrote.

Early Life

Actress Angela Lansbury was born on October 16, 1925, in London, England. Angela Lansbury is an accomplished film, theater and television actress who has been nominated for nearly every acting honor imaginable. At the very least, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award. This beloved actress is known by many for her role as the crime-solving mystery writer Jessica Fletcher on the long-running television series Murder, She Wrote.

Big Break

Not long after arriving in the United States in 1940, Lansbury scored an important film role. She appeared in 1944's Gaslight opposite Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. Playing the house maid Nancy, Lansbury held her own against such established stars and earned an Academy Award nomination for Actress in a Supporting Role. She was nominated again the next year for playing Sibyl Vane in The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Film Career

Lansbury continued making films, including The Manchurian Candidate (1963), which brought her a third Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. A versatile performer, she appeared in the movie musical Bedknobs and Broomsticks in 1971 and on stage in the musical productions Mame (1966), Dear World (1969), Gypsy (1974) and Sweeney Todd (1979). Lansbury won the Best Actress in a Musical for all four of these plays.

'Murder, She Wrote'

In the 1980s, Lansbury found success on the small screen. Beginning in 1984, she played the role of Jessica Fletcher in the popular TV mystery series Murder, She Wrote. As the diplomatic, kind and clever Mrs. Fletcher, she earned Emmy Award nominations in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category every year from 1985 to 1996.

Later Years

After the show ended, Lansbury has appeared in television movies including some Murder, She Wrote specials and in feature films, such as Nanny McPhee (2005). She has also made television guest appearances. The most notable one was on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2005, which earned her an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. During her career, she has voiced several animated characters for such films as Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Anastasia (1997).

In 2007, she returned to Broadway, performing in the show Deuce. Lansbury played a former tennis pro who reunites with her doubles partner for an honors ceremony at the U.S. Open. In 2009, she appeared again on stage for Blithe Spirit, a play about a man who is haunted by the ghost of his ex-wife. The performance earned Lansbury a Tony award for Best Supporting Actress in 2009. The recent win ties Lansbury with performer Julie Harris for the record number of Tony wins.