Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller, DBE (15 August 1912 â€" 14 May 2003) was
an English film and stage actress, who enjoyed a varied acting career
that spanned nearly sixty years. The writer Joel Hirschorn, in his
1984 compilation Rating the Movie Stars, described her as "a
no-nonsense actress who literally took command of the screen whenever
she appeared on film". Despite many notable film performances, she
chose to remain primarily a stage actress.She won the Academy Award
for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Separate Tables
(1958). Her performance as Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion (1938) saw her
nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.Born in Bramhall,
Cheshire, the daughter of Frank Watkin Hiller, a Manchester cotton
manufacturer, and Marie Stone, Hiller began her professional career as
an actress in repertory at Manchester in the early 1930s. She first
found success as slum dweller Sally Hardcastle in the stage version of
Love on the Dole in 1934. The play was an enormous success and toured
the regional stages of Britain. This play saw her West End debut in
1935 at the Garrick Theatre. She married the play's author Ronald Gow,
fifteen years her senior, in 1937 (the same year as she made her film
debut in Lancashire Luck, scripted by Gow).
an English film and stage actress, who enjoyed a varied acting career
that spanned nearly sixty years. The writer Joel Hirschorn, in his
1984 compilation Rating the Movie Stars, described her as "a
no-nonsense actress who literally took command of the screen whenever
she appeared on film". Despite many notable film performances, she
chose to remain primarily a stage actress.She won the Academy Award
for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Separate Tables
(1958). Her performance as Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion (1938) saw her
nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.Born in Bramhall,
Cheshire, the daughter of Frank Watkin Hiller, a Manchester cotton
manufacturer, and Marie Stone, Hiller began her professional career as
an actress in repertory at Manchester in the early 1930s. She first
found success as slum dweller Sally Hardcastle in the stage version of
Love on the Dole in 1934. The play was an enormous success and toured
the regional stages of Britain. This play saw her West End debut in
1935 at the Garrick Theatre. She married the play's author Ronald Gow,
fifteen years her senior, in 1937 (the same year as she made her film
debut in Lancashire Luck, scripted by Gow).
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.