British actress (1902-1986). Born
Elizabeth Sullivan in
London, she was trained as a
dancer by
Isadora Duncan. She was a lifelong
nonconformist, infusing many of her characters with a
weird childlike quality. She married actor
Charles Laughton in 1929 -- they remained married until he died in 1962.
In her
film debut, she played
Clickett in the 1935 version of "
David Copperfield." After that, she went on to her most famous
movie: "
The Bride of Frankenstein," in which she played both "
Frankenstein" author
Mary Shelley and the
bouffant-bedecked,
hissing
Bride of the
monster. Her
performance has proven to be almost as
famous as
Boris Karloff's as the monster and has earned her a
permanent place among the
superstars of
horror cinema.
Among her other films were "
Lassie Come Home," "
The Razor's Edge," "
The Bishop's Wife," "
Come to the Stable" (she was nominated for an
Academy Award for her performance as a
flaky artist), "
Les Miserables," "
Witness for the Prosecution" (another
Oscar nomination, this time for her performance as
Miss Plimsoll, Laughton's
nurse), "
Bell, Book and Candle," "
Mary Poppins" (she was
Katie Nanna, the Banks' previous
nanny), "
That Darn Cat!," "
Willard," "
Murder by Death," and "
Die Laughing," her last movie, in 1980. She died in
Woodland Hills, California on the day after
Christmas in 1986.
Much research assistance from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com).