Peggy Ashcroft
From Alfred Hitchcock Wiki
- born: 22/Dec/1907 (Croydon, Surrey, England, UK)
- died: 14/Jun/1991 (London, England, UK) - stroke
Biography
Dame Peggy Ashcroft DBE, born Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft, was an acclaimed Academy Award-winning English actress.
Career
Born in Croydon, Peggy Ashcroft attended the Central School of Speech and Drama. A prolific stage actress from a young age, her 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 thirty-minute excerpt of "Twelfth Night" on the BBC Television Service, alongside Greer Garson, the first known instance of a Shakespeare play to be performed on television.
Possibly her best known celluloid role was that of Mrs. Moore in the film version of "A Passage to India" — a role which won her an Oscar in 1984 for Best Actress In A Supporting Role, although she did not appear in person at the telecast to accept the award, which Angela Lansbury accepted on her behalf.
On television, 1984 saw Peggy Ashcroft appear in the role of Barbie Batchelor on the internationally acclaimed British mini-series "The Jewel in the Crown", for which she won a BAFTA Best Television Actress award.
Life
Peggy Ashcroft was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1951, and raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in 1956.
She died in London, following a stroke at the age of 83.
She was thrice-married and divorced, with 2 children by her last husband, Jeremy Hutchinson, Baron Hutchinson of Lullington, whom she married in 1940 and divorced in 1965. Her first husband was Sir Rupert Hart-Davis, and her second husband was the great Theodore Komisarjevsky. She was rumoured to have had an affair with the late African-American actor and activist, Paul Robeson.
Filmography
With Hitchcock...
- The 39 Steps (1935) - cast: Margaret Crofter
Other works of note...
- The Nun's Story (1959) - cast: Mother Mathilde
- The Jewel in the Crown (TV 1984) - cast: Barbie Batchelor
- A Passage to India (1984) - cast: Mrs. Moore
- When the Wind Blows (1986) - cast: Hilda Bloggs (voice)
- A Perfect Spy (TV 1987) - cast: Miss Dubber
Links
Film Frames
Selection of film frames of Peggy Ashcroft (click image to view larger version or refresh thumbnails)...