JA
Photo of Judith Anderson

Judith Anderson

Actor
Born February 10, 1897Died January 3, 1992 (94 years)
Dame Frances Margaret Anderson, AC, DBE (February 10, 1897 – January 3, 1992), known professionally as Judith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film and television. Considered one of the greatest classical stage actors of the 20th century, she has two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award to her name, as well as a nomination for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award each.

She began her acting career in Australia but her ambition brought her to New York in 1918. She established herself as one of the greatest theatrical actresses and was a major star on Broadway throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Her notable stage works included the role of Lady Macbeth, which she played first in the 1920s, and gave an Emmy Award-winning television performance in Macbeth (1960). Anderson's long association with Euripides's "Medea" began with her acclaimed Tony Award-winning 1948 stage performance in the title role. She appeared in the television version of Medea (1983) in the supporting character of the Nurse.

Anderson made her Hollywood film debut under director Rowland Brown in a supporting role in Blood Money (1933). Her striking, not conventionally attractive features were complemented with her powerful presence, mastery of timing and an effortless style. Anderson made a film career as a supporting character actress in several significant films including Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940), for which she was Oscar nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She worked with director Otto Preminger in Laura (1944), then with René Clair in And Then There Were None (1945). Her remarkable performance in a supporting role in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) fit in a stellar acting ensemble under director Richard Brooks.

Anderson was awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1960 Queen's New Year's Honours List for her services to the performing arts. Living in Santa Barbara in her later years, she also had a successful stint on the soap opera Santa Barbara (1984) and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 1984. In the same year, at age 87, she appeared in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) as the High Priestess, and was nominated for a Saturn Award for that role. She was awarded Companion of the Order of Australia in the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to the performing arts. Anderson died at age 94 of pneumonia on January 3, 1992 in Santa Barbara, California.
Movies & Shows on Plex
  • And Then There Were None
  • The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
  • A Man Called Horse
  • The Red House
  • Pursued
  • The Borrowers
Known For
  • Rebecca
  • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
  • Laura
  • Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
  • A Man Called Horse
  • The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
  • And Then There Were None
  • The Red House
  • Pursued
  • Cinderfella
  • The Furies
  • Kings Row
  • All Through the Night
  • Salome
  • Inn of the Damned
  • Edge of Darkness
  • Tycoon
  • The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre
  • The Diary of a Chambermaid
  • The Borrowers
  • Lady Scarface
  • Hallmark Hall Of Fame

Filmography

2025
1997
1991
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker · as Actress 'laura' (archive Footage) (uncredited)
1986
Impure Thoughts · as The Sister Of Purgatory (voice)
1984
Santa Barbara (TV Series) · as Minx Lockridge
1984
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock · as Vulcan High Priestess
1983
Medea · as Nurse
1975
Inn of the Damned · as Caroline Straulle
1974
The Underground Man · as Mrs. Snow
1973
The Borrowers · as Aunt Sophie
1970
A Man Called Horse · as Buffalo Cow Head
1969
Hollywood: The Selznick Years · as 'rebecca' (archive Footage) (uncredited)
1968
Elizabeth the Queen · as Queen Elizabeth I
1964
1961
Why Bother to Knock · as Maggie Shoemaker
1960
Cinderfella · as Wicked Stepmother
1960
Macbeth · as Lady Macbeth
1959
1959
The Play of the Week (TV Series) · as Medea
1958
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof · as Big Momma
1957
The DuPont Show of the Month (TV Series) · as Marquesa De Montemayor
1957
Wagon Train (TV Series) · as Felizia Kingdom
1956
1956
Playhouse 90 (TV Series) · as Aunt Bee
1956
Telephone Time (TV Series) · as Cast
1955
The Star and the Story (TV Series) · as Margaret Bishop
1954
Producers' Showcase (TV Series) · as Ftatateeta
1954
Climax! (TV Series) · as Rachel
1954
The Elgin Hour (TV Series) · as Evaline Morly
1953
Salome · as Queen Herodias
1951
Hallmark Hall Of Fame (TV Series) · as Lady Macbeth
1950
The Pulitzer Prize Playhouse (TV Series) · as Mrs. Phelps
1950
The Furies · as Flo Burnett
1947
Tycoon · as Miss Ellen Braithwaite
1947
The Red House · as Ellen Morgan
1947
Pursued · as Mrs. Callum
1946
1946
Specter of the Rose · as Madame La Sylph
1946
The Diary of a Chambermaid · as Madame Lanlaire
1945
1944
Laura · as Ann Treadwell
1943
Edge of Darkness · as Gerd Bjarnesen
1942
Kings Row · as Harriet Gordon
1942
1941
Lady Scarface · as Slade
1941
Free and Easy · as Lady Joan Culver
1940
Forty Little Mothers · as Madame Granville
1940
Rebecca · as Mrs. Danvers
1933
Blood Money · as Ruby Darling

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