BIO

Elsa Lanchester was born Elsa Sullivan Lanchester in London, England, in 1902.   Her parents were social progressives and were never married on principle.   Her older brother, Waldo Sullivan Lanchester (1897-1978) , was a well-known puppeteer.

Lanchester learned to dance under Isadora Duncan in Paris before the outbreak of World War I.   Returning to London, she opened her own dance studio and, later, a nightclub where she and others performed.

She made her West End stage debut in 1922, at the age of 20, and continued to appear in on the London stage through the mid-1930s.

Lanchester made her silent film debut in a short-reel for the Hypocrites Club in 1925 with friends, including the author Evelyn Waugh.

Although she appeared in more than 55 features, Lanchester preferred live performances, especially in a cabaret/vaudeville setting and performed solo during the 1950s as well as making television appearances.

She twice received the Supporting Actress Academy Award nominations for her performances in Come to the Stable (1949) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957).

Her last film was released in 1980.

Lanchester married the actor Charles Laughton in 1929.   He only mentioned his preference for men several years into their marriage, but her liberal upbringing may have allowed them to maintain the marriage even though it became open after his disclosure.   They remained together until his death in 1962.

Lanchester died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, in 1986, at the age of 84.

Additional English stage history is available at:

Additional Broadway stage history is available at:

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS

TV SERIES

The John Forsythe Show