Peggy Ashcroft

Overview

Academy Award-winning, legendary English actress - who maintained her status in the British acting elite for decades. Made a Dame of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1956. Almost always on stage, she appeared rarely in film, her first being The Wandering Jew (1933). On stage she was cast in many a Shakespearean role, but in film she usually played sympathetic characters. She won an Oscar for A Passage to India (1984), and her last TV film was She's Been Away (1989). She died from a stroke.
- IMDb mini biography by: Bobby G

She was awarded the DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1956 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama.
When she was named Dame of the British Empire in 1956, she (along with Sybil Thorndike who received the honor in 1931) became the youngest actress to be so honored. However, she seldom or ever uses the title for billing purposes.
Ashcroft made her professional acting debut in "Dear Brutus" in 1926 with Ralph Richardson also in the cast. They played together several times after that including "The Heiress." The same year Ashcroft won the Supporting Actress Award for "A Passage for India" from the New York Film Critics, he was honored posthumously as Best Supporting Actor in "Greystoke," his last film.
Buried in Westminster Abbey in London.
She was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1951 King's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama.

[on Trevor Howard] One of the most remarkable actors of our century. His great films are classics. He was also one of the most popular actors in the business because he was so straight down the line. He always said what he felt.
They told me if I wanted to be a film star, I'd have to have my nose straightened and my teeth fixed, but I've never really wanted to be a film star - it seems to lead only to tax problems.
I do think I'm very, very fortunate that just at the age when playing a stage role night after night is becoming difficult, I've had these opportunities to play in film and TV. You still have to have a lot of concentration. Acting is the same whatever you're doing, but that long sustaining of energy is not demanded of you.

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