Gladys Cooper

Dame Gladys Constance Cooper (December 18, 1888 - November 17, 1971) was an English actress, who was knighted for her services to the theatre. She was born in Chiswick, London, England and made her stage début in 1905 in Bluebell in Fairyland. It was not until 1922, however, that she found major success, in Arthur Wing Pinero's The Second Mrs. Tanqueray. Her last major success on the stage was in the role of "Mrs. St. Maugham" in Enid Bagnold's The Chalk Garden, a role she created in London and on Broadway.

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December 18 - 1888 - November 17 - 1971 - Chiswick, London, England - 1905 - 1922 - Arthur Wing Pinero - The Second Mrs. Tanqueray - Enid Bagnold - The Chalk Garden

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She found success in Hollywood in a variety of character roles and was most frequently cast as a disapproving, aristocratic society woman. She appeared in Rebecca (movie) and was nominated three times for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performances as Bette Davis's pathologically repressive mother in Now, Voyager; as a sceptical nun in The Song of Bernadette; and as "Mrs. Higgins" in My Fair Lady. She had 3 children from her first two marriages. Gladys Cooper's elder daughter Joan Buckmaster (1910-2005) married the actor Robert Morley. Her younger daughter, Sally Pearson (aka Sally Cooper) married the actor Robert Hardy.

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Rebecca (movie) - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - Bette Davis - Now, Voyager - The Song of Bernadette - My Fair Lady - Joan Buckmaster - Robert Morley - Sally Pearson - Sally Cooper - Robert Hardy

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She lived for many years in Santa Monica, California, essentially as a permanent resident alien with her third husband, British actor Philip Merivale to whom she was married from April 30, 1937 until March 12, 1946, when he died at the age of 59 from a heart ailment. She herself eventually returned to the UK for her final years. She died from pneumonia at the age of 82 in England.

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Santa Monica, California - Philip Merivale - April 30 - 1937 - March 12 - 1946 - UK

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An old theatre anecdote recalls that in 1928, she appeared in the play Excelsior in which her sister Doris, a small-part actress who often travelled with Gladys and appeared in some of the same plays, was given a speaking part. On opening night, Doris was reduced to tears backstage after her first appearance, which was greeted by a low hiss from the audience. "Oh no, dear," a friend reassured her. "They're just all whispering to each other, "She's Doris Cooper. She's Gladys Cooper's sister. Gladys Cooper's sister."

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