Elsa Lanchester (October 28, 1902 – December 26, 1986) was a wonderfully eccentric British actress of stage and screen, forever immortalized in film history for her iconic, dual-role performance as both Mary Shelley and the hissing, electrically-charged monster in Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
After establishing her career on the London stage, Lanchester moved to Hollywood with her husband, the legendary actor Charles Laughton. The two formed a frequent and celebrated on-screen partnership, appearing in 12 films together, including The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). Their final collaboration, the courtroom thriller Witness for the Prosecution (1957), earned them both Academy Award nominations. Lanchester received a prior Oscar nomination for Come to the Stable (1949).
Following Laughton’s death, Lanchester continued to delight audiences with her quirky charm. She became a familiar face to a new generation in a series of popular Disney films, including Mary Poppins (1964) and That Darn Cat! (1965). She also had memorable late-career appearances in the hit horror film Willard (1971) and the all-star comedy mystery Murder By Death (1976), cementing her legacy as one of cinema’s most unique and beloved character actresses.
