ANGELA LANSBURY BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Angela Lansbury was born on October 16th, 1925 in Poplar, London, England in the United Kingdom with the birth name Angela Brigid Lansbury.  Her mother was actress, Moyna MacGill and her father, Edgar Lansbury was a politician.  Her grandfather was a very high up politician serving as the Labor Party leader.   She had two brothers, Edgar and Bruce and a half sister, Isolde Denham. 
 
As a child, Lansbury was exposed to acting as her mother had a great influence on her.  She was exposed to theatrical, productions and was actually pulled from South Hampstead High School for Girls and enrolled in Ritman School of Dancing followed by enrollment at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.
 
Still living in the UK, Lansbury lost her father to stomach cancer.  Her mother soon met another man and they moved in together.  It turned out this new man was very controlling and when Lansbury's mother had the opportunity to flee to North America during World War II, they snuck out and left him behind.  First they briefly lived in New York City until Lansbury's mother found employment in Hollywood working on a Canadian tour of a Noël Coward play.
 
Angela Lansbury found work part time at a department store and then she had the chance to meet a casting director, Mel Ballerino and Lansbury was chosen to work on the film, "Gaslight" (1944).  From this film, Lansbury received her first nomination for Best Supporting Actress and then she worked on the film, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1945) where she gained another nomination. 
 
With two nominations already under her belt, her career was heading in the right direction.  Lansbury was able to portray characters much older then her true age due to her level of maturity.  Some of her other film work were, "The Harvey Girls" (1946), "Samson and Delilah"(1949) and Disney's "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971).  Lansbusry also was cast in a prominent supporting role in the film, "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962).  Along with film work, she chose to put more effort into stage work and television work.  Within sixteen years she had won four Tony Awards.  
 
Her most well known work was in the television show, "Murder She wrote" (1984-1996) playing the character of Jessica Fletcher.  This became the longest running detective drama and Lansbury became one of the highest paid actresses in the world.  Lansbury was also nominated almost annually for an Emmy, but never won one Award.  She was a guest star on the series, "Newhart" (1982) and made her first theatrical performance since 1984 in, "Nanny McPhee" (2005).  
 
Angela Lansbury has married twice.  First to Richard Cromwell on September 27th, 1945 through August 1946.  She then married Peter Shaw on August 12th, 1949 and they remained married until January 29th, 2003 when he passed away.  The couple had two children together, Anthony Pullen Shaw and Deirdre Angela Shaw.  She also had a stepson, David Shaw. 
 
Angela Lansbury has been honored by many for her contributions to the entertainment industry.  She was the recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center Honors in 2000 for her service to the arts and She has been the co-recipient of 3 Grammy Awards for the Broadway stage shows, "Mame" (1966) and "Sweeney Todd" (1979) in which she played the female lead.  Angela Lansbury was also awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C. in 1997.  In 2009, she was awarded the 2009 Tony Award for Actress in A Featured Role in a Play for her performance in "Blithe Spirit" on Broadway in New York City.
 
Angela Lansbury is currently scheduled to co-star in, "Mr. Popper's Penguins" and the film "Adeline" which are both scheduled for release in 2011.
 

Filmography

2011   Adaline
2011   Mr. Popper's Penguins
2011   Downton Abbey 
2008   Heidi 4 Paws  
2007   Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+
2005   Kingdom Hearts II
2005   Nanny McPhee  
2005   Law & Order: Trial by Jury
2005   Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
2004   Sing Along Songs: Disney Princess - Once Upon a Dream 
2004   The Blackwater Lightship 
2003   Murder, She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle
2002   Touched by an Angel 
2001   Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
2000   Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For
1999   The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax 
1997   Anastasia  
1997   Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas
1997   Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest
1996   Mrs. Santa Claus
1984-1996  Murder, She Wrote
1992   Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris
1991   Beauty and the Beast  
1990   The Love She Sought
1989   Hallmark Hall of Fame
1988   Shootdown
1986   Magnum, P.I. 
1986   Rage of Angels: The Story Continues
1984   The Murder of Sherlock Holmes
1984   The Company of Wolves  
1984   The First Olympics: Athens 1896
1984   Lace 
1984   A Talent for Murder
1983   The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story
1983   The Pirates of Penzance  
1982   The Last Unicorn  
1982   Little Gloria... Happy at Last
1982   Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
1980   The Mirror Crack'd
1979   The Lady Vanishes 
1978   Death on the Nile 
1975   The Story of the First Christmas Snow
1971   Bedknobs and Broomsticks  
1970   Something for Everyone
1966   Mister Buddwing  
1965   The Trials of O'Brien 
1965   The Man from U.N.C.L.E.  
1965   I Harlow  
1965   The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders  
1965   The Greatest Story Ever Told  
1964   Dear Heart 
1964   The World of Henry Orient  
1963   The Eleventh Hour
1963   In the Cool of the Day
1962   The Manchurian Candidate  
1962   All Fall Down 
1962   The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse  
1961   Blue Hawaii  
1960   The Dark at the Top of the Stairs  
1960   Season of Passion  
1960   A Breath of Scandal  
1958-1959  Playhouse 90 
1958   The Reluctant Debutante  
1958   The Long, Hot Summer  
1956-1957  Climax! 
1957   Undercurrent 
1956   Studio 57 
1956   Screen Directors Playhouse 
1956   Front Row Center 
1955-1956  Celebrity Playhouse 
1956   Please Murder Me 
1955-1956  The Star and the Story
1956   Chevron Hall of Stars 
1955   The Court Jester  
1955   A Lawless Street  
1955   Star Time Playhouse
1955   The Purple Mask
1955   Stage 7 
1954-1955  Four Star Playhouse
1955   Fireside Theatre 
1955   The Indiscreet Mrs. Jarvis
1954   G.E. True Theater
1950-1954  Lux Video Theatre
1954   Your Show of Shows
1954   A Life at Stake  
1953   Schlitz Playhouse
1953   The Ford Television Theatre
1953   The Revlon Mirror Theater 
1950-1953  Robert Montgomery Presents 
1953   Remains to Be Seen  
1952   Mutiny  
1951   Kind Lady  
1949   Samson and Delilah
1949   The Red Danube  
1948   The Three Musketeers  
1948   State of the Union  
1948   Tenth Avenue Angel 
1947   If Winter Comes
1947   The Private Affairs of Bel Ami
1946   Till the Clouds Roll By  
1946   The Hoodlum Saint  
1946   The Harvey Girls 
1945   The Picture of Dorian Gray 
1944   National Velvet 
1944   Gaslight