Angela Lansbury: Murder, She Wrote Star and Tony-Winning Stage Legend Di

Dame Angela Lansbury was a British-American actress and singer whose career spanned eight decades, best known as the crime-solving novelist Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote. Born Angela Brigid Lansbury on October 16, 1925, in London, she was the granddaughter of Labour Party leader George Lansbury and the daughter of actress Moyna Macgill.

Lansbury earned three Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress, for Gaslight (1944), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). She won six Tony Awards, including Best Actress in a Musical for Mame in 1966 and Best Featured Actress in a Play for Blithe Spirit in 2009. She starred in Murder, She Wrote from 1984 to 1996, earning four Golden Globes, and received an Honorary Academy Award in 2013.

Lansbury married Richard Cromwell in 1945 and Peter Shaw in 1949, and she was widowed when Shaw died in 2003. She had two children, Anthony and Deirdre. She died in Los Angeles on October 11, 2022, five days before her 97th birthday. Remembered for her wit, her warmth and her range, she moved effortlessly from villainy to comedy to song.

Achievements: Three Oscar nominations (1944, 1945, 1962), won Best Actress in a Musical for Mame (1966), starred in Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996), received an Honorary Academy Award (2013).

Birth: October 16, 1925 - London, England.

Profession: Actress and singer.

Interesting Facts: She was cast in Gaslight at age 17, and a social worker had to accompany her on set. She played Elvis Presley's mother in Blue Hawaii (1961), though she was only about ten years older than him.