Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
stage and film actress.
She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson...
's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite
John GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor/director/producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
's "
King LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606, and is considered one of his greatest works. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king...
". She also worked in British films. Following the end of her marriage to
Jack HawkinsJohn Edward "Jack" Hawkins was an English film actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman...
, she moved to
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where she met Canadian actor
Hume CronynHume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
. He became her second husband and frequent partner on stage and screen.
She was nominated for a
Tony AwardThis is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
for her performance as
Blanche DuboisBlanche DuBois is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Streetcar Named Desire...
in the original Broadway production of
A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948, sharing the prize with Katherine Cornell and
Judith AndersonDame Judith Anderson, AC, DBE was an Australian actress of stage and screen, who was also nominated for a Grammy and an Oscar...
in her portrayal of
MedeaMedea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children: Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
.
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
stage and film actress.
She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson...
's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite
John GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor/director/producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
's "
King LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606, and is considered one of his greatest works. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king...
". She also worked in British films. Following the end of her marriage to
Jack HawkinsJohn Edward "Jack" Hawkins was an English film actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman...
, she moved to
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where she met Canadian actor
Hume CronynHume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
. He became her second husband and frequent partner on stage and screen.
She was nominated for a
Tony AwardThis is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
for her performance as
Blanche DuboisBlanche DuBois is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Streetcar Named Desire...
in the original Broadway production of
A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948, sharing the prize with Katherine Cornell and
Judith AndersonDame Judith Anderson, AC, DBE was an Australian actress of stage and screen, who was also nominated for a Grammy and an Oscar...
in her portrayal of
MedeaMedea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children: Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
. Over the following three decades, her career continued sporadically and included a substantial role in
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British filmmaker and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's film,
The BirdsThe Birds is a suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 novella The Birds by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts a small town in the San Francisco Bay Area which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course...
(1963), and a Tony Award winning performance in
The Gin GameThe Gin Game is a two-person, two-act play by D.L. Coburn that premiered at American Theater Arts in Hollywood in September 1976, directed by Kip Niven. It was Coburn's first play, and the theater's first production.-Plot synopsis:...
(playing in the two-character play opposite her husband, Cronyn) in 1977.
In the mid 1980s she enjoyed a career revival. She appeared opposite Hume Cronyn in the Broadway production of
FoxfireFoxfire is a play by Susan Cooper and Hume Cronyn based on the Foxfire books. The 1982 Broadway production starred Jessica Tandy, who won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for her performance....
in 1983 and its television adaptation four years later, winning both a Tony Award and an
Emmy AwardThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.-Award winners:1950s*1954: Judith Anderson – Macbeth*1955: Mary Martin – Peter Pan*1956: Claire Trevor – Dodsworth...
for her portrayal of Annie Nations. During these years, she appeared in films such as
CocoonCocoon is a 1985 science fiction film directed by Ron Howard about a group of elderly people who are rejuvenated by aliens. The movie starred Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Jack Gilford, Steve Guttenberg, Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Gwen Verdon, Herta Ware, Tahnee...
(1985), also with Cronyn.
She became the oldest actress to receive the
Academy Award for Best ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for her role in
Driving Miss Daisy Driving Miss Daisy is a 1989 film adapted from the Alfred Uhry play of the same title for Warner Bros. The film was directed by Bruce Beresford with Morgan Freeman reprising Hoke's role and Jessica Tandy playing Miss Daisy...
(1989), for which she also won a
British Film AwardThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a British charity that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation...
and a
Golden GlobeThe Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950...
, and was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for
Fried Green TomatoesFried Green Tomatoes is a 1991 drama film based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It was released in the UK under the novel's full title....
(1991). At the height of her success, she was named as one of
People'sPeople is a weekly American magazine of celebrity and human-interest stories, published by Time Inc. As of 2006, it has a circulation of 3.75 million and revenue expected to top $1.5 billion. It was named "Magazine of the Year" by Advertising Age in October 2005, for excellence in editorial,...
"50 Most Beautiful People". She was diagnosed with
ovarian cancerOvarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from different parts of the ovary.The most common form of ovarian cancer arises from the outer lining of the ovary.. However, recent evidence shows cells that line the Fallopian tube also to be prone to develop into the same kind of cancer as seen in...
in 1990, and continued working until shortly before her death.
Early life and career
The youngest of three siblings, Tandy was born in Geldeston Road in the
Metropolitan Borough of HackneyThe Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. Its area became part of the London Borough of Hackney.-Formation and boundaries:...
. Her mother, Jessie Helen (
néeA married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....
Horspool), was the head of a school for mentally handicapped children, and her father, Harry Tandy, was a travelling salesman for a rope manufacturer. Her father died when Tandy was 12, and her mother subsequently taught evening courses to earn an income. Tandy was educated at the
Dame Alice Owen's SchoolDame Alice Owen's School is a mixed voluntary aided secondary school in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, England, founded in the London Borough of Islington. The trustees of the Dame Alice Owen Foundation are the Worshipful Company of Brewers. It is more commonly known as Owen's...
in the
London Borough of IslingtonThe London Borough of Islington is a London borough in Inner London. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North and Islington South & Finsbury.- Etymology :Islington...
.
Tandy began her career at the age of 16 in London, establishing herself with performances opposite such actors as
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson...
and
John GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor/director/producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
. She entered films in England, but when her marriage to the actor
Jack HawkinsJohn Edward "Jack" Hawkins was an English film actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman...
failed, she moved to the United States. In 1942, she married
Hume CronynHume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
and over the following years played supporting roles in several Hollywood films.
She made her American film debut in
The Seventh CrossAnna Seghers' novel The Seventh Cross , is one of the better-known examples of German literature circa World War II. It was published first in America, in an abridged version, in September 1942 by Little, Brown and Company...
(1944). She also appeared in
The Valley of DecisionThe Valley of Decision is a film set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA which tells the story of a young house maid who falls in love with the son of the local steel mill owner. Their romance is endangered when her family, all steel mill workers, go on strike against his father...
(1945),
The Green YearsThe Green Years is a 1946 comedy-drama film featuring Charles Coburn, Tom Drake, Hume Cronyn, Gladys Cooper, Dean Stockwell, and Jessica Tandy, based on A. J. Cronin's novel of the same title...
(1946, as Cronyn's daughter), Dragonwyck (1946) starring
Gene TierneyGene Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best-remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven...
and
Forever AmberForever Amber is a 1947 film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Linda Darnell and Cornel Wilde. " It was based on the book of the same name. It also starred Richard Greene, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Richard Haydn, Dolores Hart, and Jessica Tandy...
(1947).
She won a
Tony AwardThis is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
for her performance as
Blanche DuboisBlanche DuBois is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Streetcar Named Desire...
in the original Broadway production of
A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948. Over the following three decades, her career continued sporadically and included a substantial role in
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British filmmaker and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's film,
The BirdsThe Birds is a suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 novella The Birds by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts a small town in the San Francisco Bay Area which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course...
(1963), and a Tony Award-winning performance in
The Gin GameThe Gin Game is a two-person, two-act play by D.L. Coburn that premiered at American Theater Arts in Hollywood in September 1976, directed by Kip Niven. It was Coburn's first play, and the theater's first production.-Plot synopsis:...
in 1977.
After her Tony-winning performance as Blanche DuBois in the original
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
production of
Tennessee WilliamsTennessee Williams , né Thomas Lanier Williams, was an American playwright who received many of the top theatrical awards for his works of drama...
'
A Streetcar Named Desire, (she lost the film role to actress
Vivien LeighVivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won two Best Actress Academy Awards for playing "southern belles": Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind and Blanche DuBois in the film version of A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she had also played on stage in London's West End.She was a...
), she concentrated on the stage. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1952. For the next 20 years, she appeared sporadically in films such as
The Light in the ForestThe Light in the Forest is a novel first published in 1953 by U.S. author Conrad Richter. Though it is a work of fiction and primarily features fictional characters, the novel incorporates several real people and facts from U.S...
(1958) and
The BirdsThe Birds is a suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 novella The Birds by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts a small town in the San Francisco Bay Area which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course...
(1963).
The beginning of the 1980s saw a resurgence in her film career, with character roles in
The World According to GarpThe World According to Garp is John Irving's fourth novel. Published in 1978, the book was a bestseller for several years.A movie adaptation starring Robin Williams was released in 1982, with a screenplay written by Steve Tesich.-Plot:...
,
Best Friends,
Still of the Night (all 1982) and
The Bostonians (1984), and the hit film
CocoonCocoon is a 1985 science fiction film directed by Ron Howard about a group of elderly people who are rejuvenated by aliens. The movie starred Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Jack Gilford, Steve Guttenberg, Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Gwen Verdon, Herta Ware, Tahnee...
(1985), opposite Cronyn, with whom she re-teamed for
*batteries not included*batteries not included is a 1987 family-science fiction film directed by Matthew Robbins about small extraterrestrial living machines that save an apartment block under threat from property development....
(1987) and
Cocoon: The ReturnCocoon: The Return is a 1988 science fiction film that is the sequel to the 1985 film Cocoon. Most of the original actors from the first film reprised their roles in this film.- Plot:...
(1988). She and Cronyn had been working together more and more, on stage and television, notably in 1987's
Foxfire which won her an
Emmy AwardThe Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards , Grammy Awards and Tony Awards .They are presented in various...
(recreating her Tony winning Broadway role). However, it was her colorful performance in
Driving Miss Daisy Driving Miss Daisy is a 1989 film adapted from the Alfred Uhry play of the same title for Warner Bros. The film was directed by Bruce Beresford with Morgan Freeman reprising Hoke's role and Jessica Tandy playing Miss Daisy...
(1989), as an aging, stubborn Southern-Jewish matron, that earned her an
OscarPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
.
Tandy was chosen by
People magazinePeople is a weekly American magazine of celebrity and human-interest stories, published by Time Inc. As of 2006, it has a circulation of 3.75 million and revenue expected to top $1.5 billion. It was named "Magazine of the Year" by Advertising Age in October 2005, for excellence in editorial,...
as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1990. She earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her work in the grassroots hit
Fried Green TomatoesFried Green Tomatoes is a 1991 drama film based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It was released in the UK under the novel's full title....
(1991), and co-starred in
The Story Lady (1991 telefilm, with daughter Tandy Cronyn),
Used People (1992, as
Shirley MacLaineShirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, dancer, activist, and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
's mother),
To Dance with the White DogTo Dance with the White Dog is a 1990 novel by Georgia author Terry Kay, based on the experiences of his father.-Plot Summary:Sam Peek happily resides in Hart County, Georgia as a pecan farmer and local celebrity featured in many gardening/horticultural magazines. He and his wife Cora are both in...
(1993 telefilm, with husband Hume Cronyn),
Nobody's Fool (1994), and
Camilla (also 1994, with Cronyn).
Camilla was to be her last performance, at the age of 84.
Personal life
Tandy's first marriage to
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
actor
Jack HawkinsJohn Edward "Jack" Hawkins was an English film actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman...
in 1932, produced one daughter, Susan Hawkins (born 1934). The couple divorced in 1940. Tandy married her next husband, Hume Cronyn, in 1942. They had two children, daughter Tandy and son Christopher.
Prior to moving to
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....
, she lived with Cronyn for many years in nearby
Pound Ridge, New YorkPound Ridge is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 4,726 at the 2000 census.The Town of Pound Ridge is in the eastern corner of the county. It is bordered to the east by New Canaan, Connecticut, to the south, by Stamford, Connecticut, to the west by Bedford,...
and they remained together until her death in 1994. In 1990, she was diagnosed with
ovarian cancerOvarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from different parts of the ovary.The most common form of ovarian cancer arises from the outer lining of the ovary.. However, recent evidence shows cells that line the Fallopian tube also to be prone to develop into the same kind of cancer as seen in...
which she battled for four years, during which she continued to work. She had previously been treated for angina and
glaucomaGlaucoma is a group of diseases that affect the optic nerve and involves a loss of retinal ganglion cells in a characteristic pattern. It is a type of optic neuropathy. Raised intraocular pressure is a significant risk factor for developing glaucoma...
. She died at home on 11 September 1994 in
Easton, ConnecticutEaston is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,272 at the 2000 census. Easton is among the most affluent communities on the eastern seaboard...
.
Other awards
- 1979 - Sarah Siddons Award
The Sarah Siddons Society is an American non-profit organization founded in 1952 by prominent Chicago theatre patrons with the goal of promoting excellence in the theatre. The Society presents the Sarah Siddons Award annually to an actor for an outstanding performance in a Chicago theatre production...
Chicago theatreChicago theatre refers not only to theatre performed in Chicago, Illinois but also to the movement in that town that saw a number of small, meagerly-funded companies grow to institutions of national and international significance. As per Richard Christiansen's book, A Theater of Our Own, Chicago...
- 1986 - Drama Desk Special Award
The Drama Desk Special Award is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee comprised of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors. It honors an individual or an organization that has made a significant contribution to Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, or legitimate not-for-profit...
- 1994 - Special Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are for Broadway productions and...
for Lifetime Achievement shared with her husband, Hume CronynHume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
Broadway credits
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1940 |
Jupiter Laughs Jupiter Laughs is A. J. Cronin's 1940 play in three acts about a doctor and his love interest, who hopes to become a medical missionary. The play was first staged in Glasgow at the King's Theatre and starred Henry Longhurst, Catherine Lacey and James Mason. In 1940, it opened on Broadway at the...
|
Dr. Mary Murray |
|
| 1947 |
A Streetcar Named Desire |
Blanche DuBois |
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
|
| 1950 |
Hilda Crane |
Hilda Crane |
|
| 1951 |
The FourposterThe Fourposter is a 1951 play written by Jan de Hartog. The two-character story spans thirty-five years, from 1890 to 1925, as it focuses on the trials and tribulations, laughters and sorrows, and hopes and disappointments experienced by Agnes and George throughout their marriage...
|
Agnes |
|
| 1959 |
Five Finger Exercise Five Finger Exercise is a drama film made by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Daniel Mann and produced by Frederick Brisson from a screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, based on the play by Peter Shaffer....
|
Louise Harrington |
|
| 1966 |
A Delicate Balance |
Agnes |
|
| 1971 |
Home Home is a play by David Storey. Written in a quasi-absurdist style heavily influenced by Samuel Becket, it is set in a mental asylum, although this fact is revealed gradually as the story progresses....
|
Marjorie |
|
| 1977 |
The Gin Game The Gin Game is a two-person, two-act play by D.L. Coburn that premiered at American Theater Arts in Hollywood in September 1976, directed by Kip Niven. It was Coburn's first play, and the theater's first production.-Plot synopsis:...
|
Fonsia Dorsey |
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
|
| 1982 |
Foxfire |
Annie Nations |
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
|
| 1983 |
The Glass MenagerieThe Glass Menagerie is an evocative, four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. It was originally written as a screenplay for MGM, to whom Williams was contracted. Initial ideas stemmed from one of his short stories, and the screenplay originally went under the name of 'The Gentleman Caller'...
|
Amanda Wingfield |
|
| 1986 |
The Petition |
Lady Elizabeth Milne |
Nominated - Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are for Broadway productions and...
|
Filmography
| Year |
Film |
Role |
Notes |
| 1932 |
The Indiscretions of Eve |
Maid |
|
| 1938 |
Murder in the Family |
Ann Osborne |
|
| 1944 |
The Seventh Cross The Seventh Cross is a 1944 film starring Spencer Tracy, Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. Cronyn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
|
Liesel Roeder |
|
| Blonde Fever |
Diner at Inn |
uncredited |
| 1945 |
The Valley of Decision The Valley of Decision is a film set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA which tells the story of a young house maid who falls in love with the son of the local steel mill owner. Their romance is endangered when her family, all steel mill workers, go on strike against his father...
|
Louise Kane |
|
| 1946 |
Dragonwyck |
Peggy O'Malley |
|
| The Green Years The Green Years is a 1946 comedy-drama film featuring Charles Coburn, Tom Drake, Hume Cronyn, Gladys Cooper, Dean Stockwell, and Jessica Tandy, based on A. J. Cronin's novel of the same title...
|
Kate Leckie |
|
| 1947 |
Forever AmberForever Amber is a 1947 film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Linda Darnell and Cornel Wilde. " It was based on the book of the same name. It also starred Richard Greene, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Richard Haydn, Dolores Hart, and Jessica Tandy...
|
Nan Britton |
|
| 1948 |
A Woman's Vengeance |
Janet Spence |
|
| 1950 |
September Affair |
Catherine Lawrence |
|
| 1951 |
The Desert Fox The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel is a 1951 biographical film about Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in the later stages of World War II. It stars James Mason in the title role. It is based on the book Rommel by Brigadier General Desmond Young.-Plot:...
|
Frau Lucie Marie Rommel |
|
| 1958 |
The Light in the ForestThe Light in the Forest is a novel first published in 1953 by U.S. author Conrad Richter. Though it is a work of fiction and primarily features fictional characters, the novel incorporates several real people and facts from U.S...
|
Myra Butler |
|
| 1962 |
Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man is a 1962 drama film directed by Martin Ritt based on the Nick Adams stories by Ernest Hemingway, and featuring Richard Beymer as Adams....
|
Helen Adams |
Nominated - Golden Globe |
| 1963 |
The BirdsThe Birds is a suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 novella The Birds by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts a small town in the San Francisco Bay Area which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course...
|
Lydia Brenner |
|
| 1976 |
Butley Butley is a 1971 play by Simon Gray. The title character, a literary professor and T. S. Eliot scholar, is a suicidal alcoholic who loses his wife and male lover on the same day...
|
Edna Shaft |
|
| 1981 |
Honky Tonk Freeway Honky Tonk Freeway is a comedy film, released in August 1981 by Universal Studios. The film's plot centers around the residents of a small, fictional Florida tourist town named Ticlaw, as they react to news that a new highway being constructed near their town will not include an exit for them...
|
Carol |
|
| 1982 |
The World According to GarpThe World According to Garp is 1982 comedy-drama film directed by George Roy Hill based on the novel of the same title by John Irving. John Lithgow and Glenn Close were nominated for Academy Awards for their roles.-Plot:...
|
Mrs. Fields |
|
| Still of the Night |
Grace Rice |
|
| Best Friends Best Friends is a 1982 feature film starring Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn. It is loosely based on the true story of the relationship between its writers, Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin. The film is a drama as well as a romantic comedy.-Plot summary:...
|
Eleanor McCullen |
|
| 1984 |
The Bostonians The Bostonians is 1984's Merchant Ivory Film, based on Henry James' novel of the same name. The film starred Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Reeve, Madeleine Potter and Jessica Tandy. The movie received respectable reviews and showings at arthouse theaters in New York, London and other cities...
|
Miss Birdseye |
|
| Terror in the Aisles Terror in the Aisles is a 1984 horror film documentary featuring clips from Friday the 13th I and II, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Halloween I and II, Jaws I and II, Alien, John Carpenter's The Thing, The Shining, etc. The film is hosted by Donald Pleasence and Nancy Allen...
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archival footage |
| 1985 |
Cocoon Cocoon is a 1985 science fiction film directed by Ron Howard about a group of elderly people who are rejuvenated by aliens. The movie starred Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Jack Gilford, Steve Guttenberg, Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Gwen Verdon, Herta Ware, Tahnee...
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Alma Finley |
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| 1987 |
*batteries not included *batteries not included is a 1987 family-science fiction film directed by Matthew Robbins about small extraterrestrial living machines that save an apartment block under threat from property development....
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Faye Riley |
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| 1988 |
The House on Carroll Street |
Miss Venable |
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| Cocoon: The Return Cocoon: The Return is a 1988 science fiction film that is the sequel to the 1985 film Cocoon. Most of the original actors from the first film reprised their roles in this film.- Plot:...
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Alma Finley |
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| 1989 |
Driving Miss Daisy Driving Miss Daisy is a 1989 film adapted from the Alfred Uhry play of the same title for Warner Bros. The film was directed by Bruce Beresford with Morgan Freeman reprising Hoke's role and Jessica Tandy playing Miss Daisy...
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Daisy Werthan |
Academy Award for Best Actress Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleBest Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :...
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 1991 |
Fried Green TomatoesFried Green Tomatoes is a 1991 drama film based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It was released in the UK under the novel's full title....
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Ninny Threadgoode |
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting RoleBest Actress in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film...
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
| 1992 |
Used People Used People is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron. The screenplay by Todd Graff, adapted from his 1988 off-Broadway play The Grandma Plays , takes a humorous look at a highly dysfunctional family living in the New York City borough of Queens circa 1969.-Plot...
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Freida |
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| 1993 |
To Dance with the White Dog To Dance with the White Dog is a 1990 novel by Georgia author Terry Kay, based on the experiences of his father.-Plot Summary:Sam Peek happily resides in Hart County, Georgia as a pecan farmer and local celebrity featured in many gardening/horticultural magazines. He and his wife Cora are both in...
(with husband Hume Cronyn) |
Cora Peek |
| 1994 |
A Century of Cinema A Century of Cinema is a 1994 documentary directed by Caroline Thomas about the art of filmmaking , containing numerous interviews with some of the most influential film personalities of the twentieth century....
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Herself |
documentary |
| Nobody's Fool |
Beryl Peoples |
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| Camilla |
Camilla Cara |
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External links