Dame Angela Lansbury, the actress of the US TV murder series Murder, She Wrote, has died at the age of 96.
The three-time Oscar nominee has an eight-decade profession in cinema, theatre, and television. She was one of the last living stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, having been born in 1925.
Dame Angela died in her sleep just five days before her 97th birthday, according to her family.
Dame Angela Lansbury’s children are saddened to inform that their mother died calmly in her sleep at home in Los Angeles, the family announced.
Dame Angela was born in London and subsequently relocated to New York to attend the Feagin School of Dramatic Art.
A Hollywood producer observed her at a party in 1942 and cast her as a maid in the 1944 picture Gaslight.
Her ensuing profession brought her from Broadway to Hollywood, where she found success on both the big and small screens.
Her role of investigator Jessica Fletcher in the television series Murder, She Wrote, however, earned her millions of admirers worldwide.
She took the role in 1984 and stayed for 12 years and nine seasons.
The programme made her one of the wealthiest women in the United States at the time, with a fortune believed to be worth $100 million.
She was nominated for an Oscar for her performance as the maid in Gaslight, as Sibyl in The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1945, and as Laurence Harvey’s manipulating mom in The Manchurian Candidate in 1962.
In 2013, she received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement at the age of 88.
Fellow actor Geoffrey Rush lauded her as the “living definition of range” at the event.
It came on the heels of a Bafta lifetime achievement award and a plaque on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2002.
She received three Tony Awards after moving to Broadway in the 1960s, notably one for her performance as Nellie Lovett in Sweeney Todd in 1970.
She was created a Dame in 2014 for her contributions to play, charity, and philanthropy.
Following her death, tributes hailed her as a “Hollywood legend.”
On Twitter, actor Josh Gad wrote that it is unusual for an individual to have an impact on numerous generations, resulting in a body of work that characterizes decade after decade. Angela Lansbury was that artist.
Dame Angela was “everything,” according to fellow actor Harvey Fierstein.
Mia Farrow, who co-starred with Dame Angela in the 1978 film Death on the Nile, described working with her as “a privilege.”
Many tributes referred to Dame Angela’s work in the 1980s and 1990s to raise awareness and funds for Aids, including fronting a TV information campaign and hosting charity events.
Dame Angela married twice, first to actor Richard Cromwell when she was 19, and then to British actor and producer Peter Shaw.
They were married for over 50 years until his death in 2003.
Her three kids, her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren survive her.
As per the family statement, a private family ceremony will be held at a later date.
