Peggy Ashcroft
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| Peggy Ashcroft | |
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| Born | Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft 22 December 1907 Croydon, England, UK |
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| Died | 14 June 1991 (aged 83) London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1929 – 1991 |
| Spouse(s) | Rupert Hart-Davis (1929 – 1933) Theodore Komisarjevsky (m. 1934) Jeremy Hutchinson (1940 – 1965) |
Dame Peggy Ashcroft, DBE (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991) was an English actress.
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[edit] Early years
Born as Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft in Croydon, Ashcroft attended the Woodford School, Croydon and the Central School of Speech and Drama.[1] A prolific stage actress from a young age, she first gained notoriety playing Naemi in Jew Suss in 1929, and Desdemona opposite Paul Robeson's Othello two years later.
[edit] Career
Stardom came in 1934 when she played Juliet in a legendary production of Romeo and Juliet, at the New Theatre, in which Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud alternated in the roles of Romeo and Mercutio. She stayed at the top of the British theatrical profession for the remainder of her career, with some of the highlights Three Sisters (1937), The Heiress (1949), Antony and Cleopatra (1953), As You Like It and Cymbeline (as Imogen) (1957), The Taming of the Shrew (1960), and The War of the Roses, the Royal Shakespeare Company's massive landmark compendium of the three Henry VI plays and Richard III, directed by Peter Hall for the RSC in 1963.
Ashcroft's film and television appearances were rare but memorable. One of her earliest film roles was the minor part of the crofter's wife in the Robert Donat version of The Thirty-Nine Steps. In 1937, she appeared in a 30 minute excerpt of Twelfth Night on the BBC Television Service, alongside Greer Garson, the first known instance of a Shakespeare play being performed on television.
Possibly her best known celluloid role was that of Mrs Moore in the 1984 film A Passage to India — a role for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Although Ashcroft did not appear in person at the telecast to accept the Oscar, Angela Lansbury accepted it on her behalf.
On television, Ashcroft appeared in the role of Barbie Batchelor on the internationally acclaimed British mini-series The Jewel in the Crown (1984), for which she won a BAFTA Best Television Actress award.
[edit] Other
In May 1986 Ashcroft was awarded an honorary degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University.[citation needed]
[edit] Honours
Ashcroft was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1951, and raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in 1956.
[edit] Personal life
She was married three times, first to Rupert Hart-Davis (from 1929-33), and then to Theodore Komisarjevsky (1934). She had two children with her last husband, Jeremy Hutchinson, whom she married in 1940 and divorced in 1965. Her granddaughter is the French singer Emily Loizeau.[citation needed]
[edit] Death
Peggy Ashcroft died in London from a stroke in June 1991, aged 83.
[edit] Legacy
She was commemorated with memorial plaque in Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey (just above the grave of fellow Central School of Speech and Drama pupil and friend Laurence Olivier and 18th Century actor David Garrick).
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Film
- The Wandering Jew (1933) — Olalla Quintana
- The 39 Steps (1935) — Margaret, the crofter's wife
- The Nun's Story (1959) — Mother Mathilde
- Secret Ceremony (1968) — Hannah
- Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971) — Mrs Greville
- The Pedestrian (German: Der Fußgänger) - Lady Gray
- A Passage to India (1984) — Mrs Moore
- When the Wind Blows (1986) - Hilda Bloggs (voice)
- Madame Sousatzka (1988) — Lady Emily
[edit] Television
- Twelfth Night (1937)
- The Wednesday Play: Days in the Trees (1967)
- Play of the Month: The Cherry Orchard (1971)
- Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978)
- Edward and Mrs Simpson (1978) — Queen Mary
- Caught on a Train (1980) — Frau Messner
- Play of the Month: Little Eyolf (1982) - The Rat Wife
- The Jewel in the Crown (1984) — Barbie Batchelor
- A Perfect Spy (1987)
- She's Been Away (1991) - Lillian Huckle
[edit] References
- ^ Ian Herbert, ed (1981). "ASHCROFT, Dame Peggy". Who's Who in the Theatre. 1. Gale Research Company. p. 24–26. ISSN 0083-9833.
[edit] External links
- Peggy Ashcroft at Find a Grave
- Peggy Ashcroft at the Internet Broadway Database
- Peggy Ashcroft at the Internet Movie Database
- Dame Peggy Ashcroft biography at BFI Screenonline
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