Dame Peggy Ashcroft,
DBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991) was an English actress.
Early years
Born as
Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft in
CroydonCroydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, Ashcroft attended the Woodford School, Croydon and the
Central School of Speech and DramaThe Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
. A prolific stage actress from a young age, she first gained notoriety playing Naemi in Jew Suss in 1929, and
DesdemonaDesdemona is a character in William Shakespeare's play Othello . Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a man several years her senior. When her husband is deployed to Cyprus in the service of the...
opposite
Paul Robeson'sPaul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
OthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
two years later, during which time the two had a brief affair.
Career
Stardom came in 1934 when she played Juliet in a legendary production of
Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, at the
New TheatreThe Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by...
, in which
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. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and
John GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and 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...
alternated in the roles of Romeo and Mercutio. She and Gielgud would later be acclaimed as Beatrice and Benedick in
Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
, which they played together a number of times, including a London engagement and European tour for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1955 (she also played Cordelia to his King Lear during that tour). When she first played Beatrice with him in 1950, Gielgud found her performance "a revelation - an impish, rather tactless girl with a curious resemblance to Bea Lillie," while a teenage Peter Hall observed in her "English containment and decency, contrasted with a wild passion." She stayed at the top of the British theatrical profession throughout her career, with some of the highlights
Three SistersThree Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
(1937) in which she played Irina,
The HeiressThe Heiress is a 1949 American drama film. It was written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 play of the same title that was based on the 1880 novel Washington Square by Henry James. The film was directed by William Wyler, with starring performances by Olivia de Havilland as...
(1949),
Antony and CleopatraAntony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
(1953),
As You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
and
CymbelineCymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
(as
ImogenImogen was the daughter of King Cymbeline, in Shakespeare's play, Cymbeline. She was described by William Hazlitt as "perhaps the most tender and the most artless" of all Shakespeare's women.-Name:...
) (1957),
The Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
(1960), and
The War of the RosesThe Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
, the
Royal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
's massive landmark compendium of the three
Henry VIHenry VI may refer to:* Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor .* Henry VI of Luxembourg, Count of Luxembourg, * Henry VI of England...
plays and
Richard IIIRichard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, directed by Peter Hall for the
RSCThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
in 1963.
Ashcroft's film and television appearances were rare but memorable. One of her earliest film roles was the minor part of the crofter's wife in the
Robert DonatRobert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr...
version of
The Thirty-Nine StepsThe 39 Steps is a British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll....
, directed by
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
.
In 1937, she appeared in a 30-minute excerpt of Twelfth Night on the
BBC Television ServiceBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, alongside
Greer GarsonGreer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award...
, the first known instance of a Shakespeare play being performed on television.
She had minor supporting roles in
The Nun's StoryThe Nun's Story is a 1959 Warner Brothers film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Audrey Hepburn. Based upon the 1956 novel of the same title by Kathryn Hulme, the story tells of the life of Sister Luke , a young Belgian woman who decides to enter a convent and make the many sacrifices...
(1959) opposite
Audrey HepburnAudrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
;
Joseph LoseyJoseph Walton Losey was an American theater and film director. After studying in Germany with Bertolt Brecht, Losey returned to the United States, eventually making his way to Hollywood...
's
Secret CeremonySecret Ceremony is a 1968 film, produced in Britain and released by Universal Pictures. It stars Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, Robert Mitchum, Pamela Brown, and Peggy Ashcroft. Joseph Losey directed, from a script by George Tabori.-Plot:...
(1968) starring
Elizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
and
Mia FarrowMia Farrow is an American actress, singer, humanitarian, and fashion model.Farrow first gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison Mackenzie in the soap opera Peyton Place, and for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra...
; and
Sunday Bloody SundaySunday Bloody Sunday is a 1971 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Murray Head, Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch. It tells the story of a free-spirited young bisexual artist and his simultaneous relationships with a female recruitment consultant and a male Jewish doctor...
(1971) featuring
Peter FinchPeter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
and
Glenda JacksonGlenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
.
In the 1970s, she starred in Der Fußgänger (English title:
The Pedestrian"The Pedestrian" is a short story by author Ray Bradbury. This story was originally published in 1951 by The Fortnightly Publishing Company. It is included in the collection The Golden Apples of the Sun .-Summary:...
), the Academy Award-nominated and
Golden GlobeThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
-winning film, which won the
Best Foreign Language Foreign FilmThe Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
of 1974, . The film was directed by Austrian actor-director
Maximilian SchellMaximilian Schell is an Austrian-born Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961...
, and starred former international early screen peers
Käthe HaackKäthe Haack was a German actress. She appeared in over 200 films between 1915 and 1980.She was born Käte Lisbeth Minna Sophie Isolde Haack in Berlin, Germany and was previously married to actor Heinrich Schroth, with whom she had a daughter, actress Hannelore Schroth in 1922.-Selected...
,
Lil DagoverLil Dagover was a German stage, film and television actress whose career spanned nearly six decades.-Early life:...
and
Françoise RosayFrançoise Rosay was a French opera singer, diseuse, and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure in French cinema...
.
Possibly her best known celluloid role was that of Mrs. Moore in
David LeanSir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
's 1984 film
A Passage to IndiaA Passage to India is a 1984 drama film written and directed by David Lean. The screenplay is based on the 1924 novel of the same title by E. M. Forster and the 1960 play by Santha Rama Rau that was inspired by the novel....
— a role for which she won 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...
among many other awards, including a BAFTA Award and a
Golden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
. Ashcroft did not appear in person at the telecast to accept the Oscar, so
Angela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
accepted it on her behalf.
Ashcroft's final theatrical motion picture role was in
John SchlesingerJohn Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
's
Madame SousatzkaMadame Sousatzka is a 1988 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. It is based upon the novel of the same name by Bernice Rubens.-Plot synopsis:...
(1988) starring
Shirley MacLaineShirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, 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...
.
On television, Ashcroft played Barbie Batchelor in the internationally acclaimed British miniseries The Jewel in the Crown (1984), for which she won a BAFTA Best Television Actress award and an
Emmy AwardAn 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 and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nomination. Other memorable television roles include the miniseries Edward & Mrs. Simpson,
Stephen PoliakoffStephen Poliakoff, CBE, FRSL is an acclaimed British playwright, director and scriptwriter, widely judged amongst Britain's foremost television dramatists.-Early life and career:...
's drama special
Caught on a TrainCaught On A Train is a British television play written by Stephen Poliakoff and directed by Peter Duffell, based on an overnight train journey across Europe, and following the route of a journey Poliakoff had himself made from London to Vienna...
, and a miniseries version of
John le CarréDavid John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
's
A Perfect SpyA Perfect Spy is a BBC miniseries adaptation of John le Carré's spy novel of the same name. It follows the career of the British MI6 spy Magnus Pym from his early days as a schoolboy to his eventual disappearance as a suspected agent of the Czech secret service.-Episode one:As a young boy Magnus...
, for which she received her second Emmy nomination.
Other
In May 1986 Ashcroft was awarded an
honorary degreeAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
from the
Open UniversityThe Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
as Doctor of the University.
Honours
Ashcroft was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE) in 1951, and raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in 1956.
Personal life
She was married three times, first to
Rupert Hart-DavisSir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis was an English publisher, editor and man of letters. He founded the publishing company Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd...
(from 1929–33), and then to
Theodore KomisarjevskyFyodor Fyodorovich Komissarzhevsky or Theodore Komisarjevsky, as he is better known in the West, was a Russian theatrical director and designer. He began his career in Moscow, but had his greatest influence in London...
(1934). She had two children, a son Nicholas, born 1946 and a daughter Eliza born in June 1941 with her third husband,
Jeremy HutchinsonJeremy Nicolas Hutchinson, Baron Hutchinson of Lullington QC is a British lawyer.-Education:Hutchinson was educated at Stowe School and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated with a Master of Arts in philosophy, politics and economics.-Career:He was Called to the Bar, Middle Temple in 1939...
, whom she married on 14 September 1940 and divorced in 1965. Her granddaughter is the French singer
Emily LoizeauEmily Loizeau is a French author, composer, and singer. Her debut album, released in 2006, was titled L'autre bout du monde .- Biography :...
.
Ashcroft was the inspiration for the character
Julie WaltersJulie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
portrayed in the film
Driving LessonsDriving Lessons is a 2006 British dramedy film written and directed by Jeremy Brock. The plot focuses on the relationship between a shy teenaged boy and an ageing eccentric actress.-Plot:...
, written and directed by
Jeremy BrockJeremy Brock is an English actor, producer, writer, fisher and director whose works include the screenplays Mrs. Brown, Driving Lessons, Last King of Scotland, and Charlotte Gray....
who worked for Ashcroft decades earlier.
Legacy
She was commemorated with memorial plaque in Poet's Corner,
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
(just above the grave of fellow
Central School of Speech and DramaThe Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
pupil and friend
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. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and 18th Century actor
David GarrickDavid Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
). The
Ashcroft TheatreThe Ashcroft Theatre is a theatre located within the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, South London. The theatre was named after Croydon-born Dame Peggy Ashcroft and is a proscenium theatre with a stepped auditorium. The mural on its fire curtain is by the artist Henry Bird. A variety of productions are...
is a theatre located within the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, South London. The theatre was named after Croydon-born Dame Peggy Ashcroft and is a proscenium theatre with a stepped auditorium.
Film
- The Wandering Jew (1933) — Olalla Quintana
- The 39 Steps
The 39 Steps is a British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll....
(1935) — Margaret, the crofter's wife
- Quiet Wedding
Quiet Wedding is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Margaret Lockwood, Derek Farr and Marjorie Fielding. The screenplay was written by Terence Rattigan and Anatole de Grunwald based on the play Quiet Wedding by Esther McCracken which was later remade as Happy is the...
(1941)
- The Nun's Story
The Nun's Story is a 1959 Warner Brothers film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Audrey Hepburn. Based upon the 1956 novel of the same title by Kathryn Hulme, the story tells of the life of Sister Luke , a young Belgian woman who decides to enter a convent and make the many sacrifices...
(1959) — Mother Mathilde
- Secret Ceremony
Secret Ceremony is a 1968 film, produced in Britain and released by Universal Pictures. It stars Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, Robert Mitchum, Pamela Brown, and Peggy Ashcroft. Joseph Losey directed, from a script by George Tabori.-Plot:...
(1968) — Hannah
- Three Into Two Won't Go
Three Into Two Won't Go is a British drama film directed by Peter Hall, and starring Rod Steiger and Claire Bloom. The film was entered into the 19th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Rod Steiger - Steve Howard...
(1969)
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
Sunday Bloody Sunday is a 1971 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Murray Head, Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch. It tells the story of a free-spirited young bisexual artist and his simultaneous relationships with a female recruitment consultant and a male Jewish doctor...
(1971) — Mrs Greville
- The Pedestrian
The Pedestrian is a 1973 film directed by Maximilian Schell. It is about the trial of an elderly war criminal. The film was a co-production between companies in Germany, Switzerland and Israel.-Cast:*Peggy Ashcroft - Lady Gray...
(German: Der Fußgänger) - Lady Gray
- A Passage to India
A Passage to India is a 1984 drama film written and directed by David Lean. The screenplay is based on the 1924 novel of the same title by E. M. Forster and the 1960 play by Santha Rama Rau that was inspired by the novel....
(1984) — Mrs Moore
- When the Wind Blows (1986) - Hilda Bloggs (voice)
- Madame Sousatzka
Madame Sousatzka is a 1988 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. It is based upon the novel of the same name by Bernice Rubens.-Plot synopsis:...
(1988) — Lady Emily
Television
- Twelfth Night (1937)
- The Wednesday Play: Days in the Trees (1967)
- Play of the Month: The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
(1971)
- Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures
Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures is a film by Merchant Ivory Productions set in India, starring UK great stage actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft....
(1978)
- Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978) — Queen Mary
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
- Caught on a Train
Caught On A Train is a British television play written by Stephen Poliakoff and directed by Peter Duffell, based on an overnight train journey across Europe, and following the route of a journey Poliakoff had himself made from London to Vienna...
(1980) — Frau Messner
- Play of the Month: Little Eyolf
Little Eyolf is an 1894 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play was first performed on January 12, 1895 in the Deutsches Theater in Berlin.-Plot:...
(1982) - The Rat Wife
- The Jewel in the Crown (1984) — Barbie Batchelor
- A Perfect Spy
A Perfect Spy by John le Carré is a novel about the mental and moral dissolution of a secret agent.-Plot introduction:A Perfect Spy is the tale of Magnus Pym, a long-time spy for the United Kingdom. After attending his father's funeral, Pym mysteriously disappears...
(1987)
- She's Been Away
She's Been Away is a 1989 British television play by Stephen Poliakoff and directed by Sir Peter Hall. In her final appearance it starred Dame Peggy Ashcroft, who won two awards at the Venice International Film Festival for her performance, as did Geraldine James.Poliakoff and Hall present an...
(1991) - Lillian Huckle
Radio
- The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi is a macabre, tragic play written by the English dramatist John Webster in 1612–13. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, then before a more general audience at The Globe, in 1613-14...
BBC THIRD PROGRAMME, (1954)
- Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
BBC THIRD PROGRAMME, (1966)
External links