Judith Anderson

Judith Anderson (1898-1992), Australian-born actress, noted for her performances in roles requiring sustained dramatic intensity. Dame Judith Anderson was born Frances Margaret Anderson-Anderson on February 10, 1898, in Adelaide, Australia. She made her professional acting debut in 1915 in Sydney. Three years later she moved to the United States and became a leading Broadway performer. In plays adapted from ancient Greek legends by the American poet Robinson Jeffers, Judith Anderson created two of her most memorable roles: Medea (1947) and The Tower Beyond Tragedy (1950). Among her earlier stage successes were Strange Interlude (1928) and Mourning Becomes Electra (1932), both by the American playwright Eugene O'Neill. In 1936 she played Queen Gertrude in Shakespeare's Hamlet opposite Sir John Gielgud.

On the film screen Judith Anderson appeared as Mrs Danvers in Rebecca (1940) and as Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). She also repeated a number of her stage successes on television. In 1960 she was made a DBE. She died on January 3, 1992, in Santa Barbara, California, United States.