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Elsa Lanchester

Elsa Lanchester

Acting1902Lewisham, London, England, UK

Biography

Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (October 28, 1902 – December 26, 1986) was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television and former dancer.

Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the First World War began performing in theatre and cabaret, where she established her career over the following decade. She met the actor Charles Laughton in 1927, and they were married two years later. She began playing small roles in British films, including the role of Anne of Cleves with Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). Laughton's success in American films resulted in the couple moving to Hollywood, where Lanchester played small film roles.

Her role as the bride in Bride of Frankenstein (1935), brought her recognition, and came to be one of the roles most closely associated with her throughout her life. Lanchester played supporting roles through the 1940s and 1950s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Come to the Stable (1949) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957), the last of twelve films in which she appeared with Laughton. Following Laughton's death in 1962, Lanchester resumed her career with appearances in such Disney films as Mary Poppins (1964), That Darn Cat! (1965) and Blackbeard's Ghost (1968). The horror film, Willard, (1971) was highly successful and one of her last roles was in Murder By Death (1976).

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Acting History

1976
Murder by Death
as Jessica Marbles
1973
Arnold
as Hester
Here's Lucy
TVas Mumsie Westcott1 eps
1972
Mannix
TVas Edna Barrington1 eps
1971
Willard
as Henrietta Stiles
Nanny and the Professor
TVas Aunt Henrietta3 eps
1970
The Dick Cavett Show
TVas Self - Guest2 eps
1969
My Dog, the Thief
as Mrs. Formby
Rascal
as Mrs. Satterfield
Me, Natalie
as Miss Dennison
The Bill Cosby Show
TVas Mrs. Wochuk
Then Came Bronson
TVas Hattie Calter
1968
Blackbeard's Ghost
as Emily Stowecroft
1965
That Darn Cat!
as Mrs. MacDougall
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
TVas Dr. Agnes Dabree1 eps
1964
Mary Poppins
as Katie Nanna
Pajama Party
as Aunt Wendy
Burke's Law
TVas Bessie Mopes1 eps
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
TVas Aggie McGregor1 eps
1961
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
TVas Self1 eps
1960
Adventures in Paradise
TVas Miss Creshaw1 eps
1959
Golden Globe Awards
TVas Self - Presenter1 eps
1958
Bell, Book and Candle
as Aunt Queenie Holroyd
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
TVas Self1 eps
Shirley Temple's Storybook
TVas Mother Goose1 eps
1957
1955
Heidi
as Fräulein Rottenmeier
The Glass Slipper
as Widow Sonder
The Ford Television Theatre
TVas Rosie Bowker1 eps
1954
3 Ring Circus
as The Bearded Lady
1953
Studio One
TVas Jenny Pratt1 eps
General Electric Theater
TVas Hanna Winters
1952
Dreamboat
as Mathilda Coffey
Les Miserables
as Madame Magloire
1950
Frenchie
as Countess
Mystery Street
as Mrs. Smerrling
Lux Video Theatre
TVas Emily / Miss Mabel
1948
The Big Clock
as Louise Patterson
1947
Northwest Outpost
as Princess 'Tanya' Tatiana
1946
The Razor's Edge
as Miss Keith
1943
Lassie Come Home
as Mrs. Helen Carraclough
Thumbs Up
as Emily "Emmy" Ffinch
1942
Tales of Manhattan
as Mrs. Smith
1941
Ladies in Retirement
as Emily Creed
1936
Rembrandt
as Hendrickje Stoffels
1935
Bride of Frankenstein
as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate
1931
The Love Habit
as Matilde
The Officers' Mess
as Cora Melville
1928
Daydreams
as Elsa / Heroine in Dream Sequence
1927

Social Media

Personal Info

Known For
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
10/28/1902
Day of Death
12/26/1986
Place of Birth
Lewisham, London, England, UK