Angela Lansbury Is 96 And As Gorgeous As Ever Nowadays

Jun 18, 2021 by apost team

Angela Lansbury has been a pinnacle figure in the film, television and theater industries for almost eight decades. The legendary Dame first appeared on the scene in 1944. A mere 17 years old, she immediately made a striking impression playing a flirtatious maid in “Gaslight,” a classic psychological thriller. More than 75 years and countless triumphs later, she is universally regarded as an icon and an actress of incredible strength and diversity.

Throughout her life, Lansbury has made her way into the hearts and minds of many fans, critics, and loved ones. Her professionalism and dedication toward her craft have made her a favorite among many, and her strong yet polite personality has helped her keep stable relationships in both her personal and professional environments.

Some of her most notable roles include her time on screen in the film “Blue Hawaii,” the television series “Murder, She Wrote,” and her role as Mrs. Potts in the Disney animated film “Beauty and the Beast” and its follow-up movies and projects. Her claim to fame came from portraying various motherly characters, but Lansbury has also been able to show off more of her range and impressive skills throughout her career.

Whether it’s in a movie or television show or on the Broadway stage, Lansbury has been captivating audiences for many years now and is still just as brilliantly talented and successful as ever. At 96 years old, Lansbury is lucky enough to be celebrating nearly an astonishing 80 years of acting and has shown no signs of slowing down.

Lansbury was born on Oct. 16, 1925, in Regent’s Park in London, England. Lansbury grew up in an upper-middle-class family. Her mother, Moyna Macgill, was an actress who regularly appeared on the theater stage in London’s West End. Lansbury’s father, Edgar Lansbury, was a wealthy English timber merchant and politician. When she was just nine years old, Lansbury’s father passed away from stomach cancer, resulting in her needing an outlet to help her cope. The young girl turned to acting and began playing characters to help take her away from her real world, which eventually developed into a real passion and desire for the art.

Her mother struggled financially, and when she became engaged to another man, Macgill and Lansbury moved in with him in Hampstead. Lansbury continued to educate herself with the help of books, movies, and the theater. The young girl also learned how to play the piano and studied music at the Ritman School of Dancing. In 1940, she began studying acting at the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art.

With the onset of the London Blitz, Macgill decided to move her family to the United States. Once there, Lansbury earned a scholarship from the American Theatre Wing, which granted her access to study at the Feagin School of Dramatic Radio and Arts. After graduating from the school in March of 1942, her family once again moved, this time to Greenwich Village. Just a few years later, Lansbury found herself an amazing opportunity and officially entered the entertainment industry when she was cast in “Gaslight.”

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Acting in a film with established Hollywood players like Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Joseph Cotten could have intimidated even a seasoned pro. It’s all the more remarkable then how 17-year-old Lansbury, having no prior film experience, more than held her own in such company. It’s a sign of the professionalism that has always come naturally to the actress — a trait that would serve her well over decades and decades of a long and illustrious career. In October of 2020, she could not only celebrate her 95th birthday but also look back on the many years of being an actress.

How did a completely unknown young actress even wind up in a Hollywood film in 1944? As Variety reported, MGM had found it increasingly difficult to cast the small but pivotal role of Nancy, a headstrong young maid, during the pre-production of “Gaslight.” Thankfully, co-scripter John Van Druten had the right inspiration. He suggested the young daughter of Macgill, a British theatre actress and widow who was evacuated with her family to the United States during the London Blitz. Even though Van Druten only knew Lansbury through her job in a department store, he could tell that she had what the character needed. 

A few days later, Angela successfully passed the screen test. She even managed to get an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film. The movie’s success and her great performance earned Lansbury a contract with MGM. A mere year later, she received her second Oscar nomination for her performance in “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

In the course of the 1950s and 1960s, Lansbury acquired a reputation as a character actress who was not afraid to portray middle-aged women, even as the actress herself was only in her thirties. In the 1961 movie “Blue Hawaii,” 36-year-old Lansbury portrayed the mother of Elvis Presley’s character Chad Gates, even though Elvis was only 26 at the time. The year after, she even portrayed Laurence Harvey’s scary mother in “The Manchurian Candidate,” even as Harvey was only three years Lansbury’s junior. This role landed Lansbury her third nomination from the Academy Awards.

The rising star’s career took yet another turn in 1996 when she managed to conquer Broadway while playing the titular character in the musical-comedy smash hit “Mame.” This proved to be a welcome relief for the actress, who may have feared being forever typecast playing mother roles in Hollywood. This list of her Broadway triumphs is long and varied. From Mama Rose in “Gypsy” to the murderous widow Mrs. Lovett in “Sweeney Todd,” Lansbury always gave her Broadway audiences something remarkably special. She has continued to remain faithful to the stage to this day, having appeared in a London West End revival of “Blithe Spirit” in 2015.

Arguably her most famous character, however, is Jessica Fletcher, the author-turned-sleuth from the long-running television drama series “Murder, She Wrote.” The show debuted in 1984 and remained on the air until 1996. Lansbury’s wit, warmth, and integrity made the show a smash hit. Even if playing Jessica arguably only showed a fraction of her vast talent, for most people, it is absolutely inconceivable to imagine the show with anybody else playing the lead.

The tremendous actress has been appreciated by fans and critics alike, and some of her movies have also received an incredible amount of praise due to her participation in the films. In October 2020, Forbes reported that five of the films Lansbury has starred in have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. These films include “Gaslight” and “National Velvet” from 1944, “The Court Jester” from 1955, “The Manchurian Candidate” from 1962, and “Beauty and the Beast” from 1991.

While she is most notable for many of her starring roles, Lansbury has also graced the screen a bit more humble in a few guest appearances on multiple television series, including “The Man From UNCLE,” “The Trials of O’Brien,” “Touched By an Angel” and “Law & Order: SVU.”

Forbes reported that the incredible actress was initially offered the role of Nurse Ratchet in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in 1975, but she turned it down because she didn’t know if she would be able to handle it. Instead, Louise Fletcher was cast and went on to win the Oscar for Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role for her portrayal of the character.

Lansbury has gone above and beyond in her professional life multiple times, and she has brought that same attitude toward more personal endeavors. The actress has been a strong supporter of a few charities, including Abused Wives in Crisis, an organization that combated domestic abuse, and those who worked toward rehabilitating drug users. She has also supported a number of charities aimed at fighting against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

As for her personal life, Lansbury has been married twice. Her first marriage was to actor Richard Cromwell, who was known for his roles in “Jezebel” and “Young Mr. Lincoln.” Lansbury was 19 while Cromwell was 35 when they eloped in a small ceremony on Sept. 27, 1945. Although they divorced just a year later, in 1946, they remained close friends until Cromwell died of liver cancer in 1960.

Lansbury went on to marry actor and producer Peter Shaw in 1949. Some of the productions he has worked on include “Little Lord Fauntleroy” and “Bride of Frankenstein.” The couple remained married for a total of 54 years together before Shaw died in 2003. Shaw had a son named David from his first marriage, and he and Lansbury had two more children of their own, Anthony and Deirdre. Lansbury struggled to balance her personal and professional life, as she was forced to leave her children in California for long periods of time while she was busy working in other places in the world.

Over Lansbury’s career of almost 80 years, she has portrayed many characters on a number of different platforms. Her first portrayal of an American character was Em in the 1946 musical “The Harvey Girls,” where Lansbury starred opposite Judy Garland. Lansbury’s character was a tough saloon singer who even slapped Garland’s character during the production. Luckily, playing opposing characters did not stand in the way of Garland and Lansbury becoming friends, as they built a strong bond and had a great relationship for many years afterward.

During an interview with Studio 10 in September 2018, she talked more about her life as an acclaimed actress in the industry. Lansbury played a major role in shaping her character Jessica Fletcher in “Murder, She Wrote.” While the writers originally wanted the character to be a bit sillier, Lansbury wanted to portray her as a smart woman and a more dynamic character. “By the time we were finished, she had gotten back her sense of purpose as a woman, she was attractive, she had boyfriends, she had a nice wardrobe,” Lansbury said. “She became much more of an ‘every woman’ rather than a kook.”

The list of awards and nominations that Lansbury has received in the course of her incredibly long career is nothing short of remarkable. In addition to her three Academy Award nominations, she has also managed to earn seven Tony Award nominations, five of which she has won. Even if an Oscar for a particular performance eluded her, she was finally given an honorary Academy Award in 2014. In addition, she earned an amazing 18 Emmy nominations and 15 Golden Globe nominations.

With such a long list of performances under her belt, it’s no surprise that Lansbury has been one of the most awarded actresses of all time and has been honored multiple times for her hard work and dedication to the entertainment industry. In 2010, Lansbury passed Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson and Alan Alda for the most Golden Globe Award wins. While each of the other actors have six wins, Lansbury surpassed them when she won her seventh. She also received the John F. Kennedy Center Honors in 2000 for all of her incredible work and dedication to the arts.

Another highlight of her career was getting to host the annual Tony Awards a total of five times throughout her career. According to Forbes, this is more than any other individual. Lansbury hosted the award show in 1968, 1971, 1987, 1988, and 1989. She has also been awarded not just one but two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — one for her work in motion pictures and the other for her work in television.

Smooth Radio reported that Lansbury’s net worth was estimated to be $70 million in the year 2020. The majority of her wealth has been reported to come from her extensive work in the film, television, and theater industries. She was also an executive producer for “Murder, She Wrote” during its final four seasons, which has also added to her accumulative wealth.

Some of the star’s most recent works include many roles in both film and television, such as her role as Aunt March in “Little Women,” her work as a voice actor for “The Grinch” in 2018, her part as Balloon Lady in “Mary Poppins Returns” and a role in the 2018 film “Buttons, A New Musical Film.” At 96 years old, Lansbury is still showing off her talents by gracing the silver screen, as she is set to star in “The Adventures of Buddy Thunder,” which is currently in the stages of pre-production.

Angela Lansbury has had quite an impressive career that has spanned almost 80 years. She has portrayed many characters in film and television and also on the Broadway stage. Her talents have been seen by millions of people across the globe, and the 96-year-old actress has shown no signs of slowing down, as she is still working on projects to this day.

What do you think about Angela Lansbury and her incredibly long and successful career? Have you seen any of the productions she has starred in? Let us know, and be sure to send this to your family and friends, too.