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Elsa Lanchester

Elsa Lanchester, was a British-born American character actress, perhaps best-known as the long-suffering wife of Charles Laughton. Her birth name was Elizabeth Sullivan.

Lanchester married Laughton in 1929, and one of her first screen appearances was opposite him in The Private Life of Henry VIII (as a highly comical Anne of Cleves). This and other appearances in British films helped her gain the title role in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). She continued to appear with her husband, for example in Rembrandt (1936), but never made a name as a female lead, mainly due to her lack of conventional beauty.

Following Laughton's death in 1962, Lanchester continued to act, making occasional film appearances such as the departing nanny in the opening scenes of Mary Poppins, and a sleuth in the 1976 Agatha Christie spoof, Murder by Death.


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Elsa Lanchester Facts

Birth NameElizabeth Sullivan
OccupationActress
BirthdayOctober 28, 1902
SignScorpio
BirthplaceLewisham, London, England, United Kingdom
Date of deathDecember 26, 1986 (age 84)
Height5' 4½" (1m64)
Awards1958 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture (for Witness for the Prosecution)

Selected Filmography

Mary Poppins
The Bishop's Wife
Frankenstein
Murder by Death
That Darn Cat!
Blackbeard's Ghost
Witness For the Prosecution
Bell, Book and Candle
The Bride of Frankenstein
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