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Angela Lansbury, the British actress whose career spanned nearly eight decades, died on October 11, 2022, at the age of 96, just five days before her 97th birthday. According to a statement from her children, the iconic actress “died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles”.
The stage and screen legend has portrayed a wide range of characters throughout her career, including the Guinness World Record-holding “Most Prolific Amateur Sleuth” Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote, the beloved kindly teapot called Mrs. Potts in the 1994 Disney animated musical Beauty and the Beast, cranky Aunt March in the 2018 Little Women miniseries, and a cameo in 2018's Mary Poppins Returns.
As tributes pour in from all over the world, let's look at some lesser-known Angela Lansbury facts.
5 interesting facts about Angela Lansbury that you might not know
1) She received an Oscar nomination for her very first feature film
Angela Lansbury first became interested in the performing arts at the age of nine after her father's untimely death from stomach cancer. She turned to acting as a way to cope with her grief. Angela immigrated to the United States in 1940, after her family was forced to flee Liverpool due to World War II.
Angela moved to Los Angeles in 1942 and was able to sign a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer to appear in 11 films with the studio, thanks to her mother's excellent networking skills. She made her film debut at the age of 17 in 1944, in the MGM film Gaslight, alongside Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotten, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
2) Her second marriage lasted for 54 years
Angela Lansbury first married actor Richard Cromwell when she was 19 and he was 35. Their marriage ended in divorce within a year. She met her future husband, British actor and producer Peter Shaw, at actor Hurd Hatfield's star-studded party in Ojai Valley. They were both working for MGM at the time. Peter became Angela's agent and manager after his acting career failed.
Angela and Peter married in 1949 and were together for 54 years until his death in 2003 at the age of 84 from congestive heart failure. They had two children together, son Anthony and daughter Deidre, and a stepson, David, from Shaw's first marriage.
Their marriage weathered many storms, including their children becoming drug addicts, Deidre becoming involved in the Charles Manson cult, and their Malibu home burning down in a fire. Angela was forced to relocate her family from Hollywood to Ireland in the 1970s as a result of this.
3) She holds a Guinness World Record
Although Angela Lansbury did not win a single Emmy Award despite receiving 18 nominations, she won a record number of Tony Awards. Lansbury won five Tony Awards for her Broadway performances as the titular Mame Dennis in Mame, Gypsy Rose Lee's mother Mama Rose in Gypsy, Mrs. Lovett, the baker of human meat pies in Sweeney Todd, Countess Aurelia in Dear World, and the clairvoyant Madame Arcati in the play Blithe Spirit.
These wins have made Angela the second most-awarded performer. Apart from that, she also holds the Guinness World Record for “Most Tony Awards won for Best Actress in a Musical” due to her four Broadway performances. She also won an additional Lifetime Achievement Tony Award this year.
4) She was made a Dame Commander
In 1994, Angela Lansbury was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). She was later promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2014 New Year Honors for her services to drama, charitable work, and philanthropy. Upon being made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle, Angela had stated:
“I’m joining a marvelous group of women I greatly admire like Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. It’s a lovely thing to be given that nod of approval by your own country and I really cherish it.”
5) She was close friends with Bea Arthur and Elizabeth Taylor
Angela Lansbury was best friends with Golden Girls star Bea Arthur. The two first met during the 1965 stage production of Mame, in which they both starred. In a conversation with Entertainment Tonight, Angela stated:
“She became and has remained ‘My Bosom Buddy’ ever since…. She was a rare and unique performer and a dear, dear friend.”
Angela paid tribute to her best friend by giving her most famous character Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote the middle name “Beatrice” after Bea Arthur, who passed away in 2009. Angela also hosted Bea's memorial service at Broadway's Majestic Theater.
Angela was also a lifelong friend of Elizabeth Taylor after the pair met on the set of the 1944 film National Velvet, in which she played the role of Edwina Brown, the elder sister of Elizabeth Taylor's character Velvet Brown.
According to sources, Angela might be laid to rest in her hometown. However, her funeral details have not yet been disclosed.
