Anabel Shaw (June 24, 1921 – April 16, 2010) was an American actress of the 1940s and ’50s who, after a promising start as a leading lady in psychological thrillers, became a familiar face in classic film noir and westerns.
Born Marjorie Henshaw, she was a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and initially worked under her birth name in films like the Bing Crosby musical Here Come the Waves (1944). Her breakthrough came when she signed with 20th Century Fox and took the stage name Anabel Shaw. She is best remembered for her harrowing performance as the fragile Janet Stewart in the noir classic Shock (1946), where she played a woman traumatized into a catatonic state after witnessing a murder committed by her own psychiatrist, played by Vincent Price.
Following her success in Shock, Shaw became a versatile player in genre cinema. She appeared in the cult noir masterpiece Gun Crazy (1950) and played supporting roles in high-profile films like Fritz Lang’s Secret Beyond the Door (1947) and the Audie Murphy war epic To Hell and Back (1955). In the 1950s, she transitioned into television, guest-starring in popular series such as The Lone Ranger and Alfred Hitchcock Presents before eventually retiring from the screen.
Off-camera, Shaw was married to sociology professor Joseph Ford, with whom she had three children, including the noted archaeologist Anabel Ford. A woman of conviction, she requested that her body be donated to the UCLA Donated Body Program upon her death, continuing her legacy of contribution long after her final bow in Hollywood.
