Elsa Lanchester

Elsa Lanchester

1902-10-28 – 1986-12-26 (age 84) Lewisham, London, England, UK
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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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Known For

Witness for the Prosecution
Witness for the Prosecution

1957

as Miss Plimsoll

Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins

1964

as Katie Nanna

Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein

1935

as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate

Murder by Death
Murder by Death

1976

as Jessica Marbles

Willard
Willard

1971

as Henrietta Stiles

Lassie Come Home
Lassie Come Home

1943

as Mrs. Helen Carraclough

Blackbeard's Ghost
Blackbeard's Ghost

1968

as Emily Stowecroft

The Bishop's Wife
The Bishop's Wife

1947

as Matilda

That Darn Cat!
That Darn Cat!

1965

as Mrs. MacDougall

The Razor's Edge
The Razor's Edge

1946

as Miss Keith

Bell, Book and Candle
Bell, Book and Candle

1958

as Aunt Queenie Holroyd

Mystery Street
Mystery Street

1950

as Mrs. Smerrling

Me, Natalie
Me, Natalie

1969

as Miss Dennison

The Big Clock
The Big Clock

1948

as Louise Patterson

Pajama Party
Pajama Party

1964

as Aunt Wendy

David Copperfield
David Copperfield

1935

as Clickett

The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden

1949

as Martha

The Spiral Staircase
The Spiral Staircase

1946

as Mrs. Oates

Dreamboat
Dreamboat

1952

as Mathilda Coffey

🎦
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook

1991

as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate