BIO

Gladys Cooper was born in London, England, in 1888.

She made her West End stage debut in 1907, at the age of 19.

Cooper became a successful stage actress and was managing her own theatre, The Playhouse, by the end of the 1920s.   She made her Broadway debut in 1934 and was twice nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress for her roles in The Chalk Garden (1956) and A Passage to India (1962).   Cooper also starred in Call It a Day (1936) which was released the following year as a movie with Olivia de Havilland in her role.

Cooper appeared in her first film, at the age of 25, for Kisch-Barker Films in 1913.   However, she did not emphasize her film career until the 1940s.   She was nominated three times for an Academy Award for Actress in a Supporting Role for her performances in:

• Now, Voyager (1942),
• The Song of Bernadette (1943) and
• My Fair Lady (1964).

In an entertainment career that included 40 feature films, her last picture was released in 1969.

She was knighted Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1967.

Cooper married three times:

1. Captain Herbert Buckmaster (1908-1921), two children, divorced.   One child became the actor John Buckmaster (1915-1983).   Their daughter, Joan Buckmaster, married the actor Robert Morley.   One grandchild was the broadcaster/author Sheridan Morley (1941-2007).
2. Sir Neville Pearson (1927–1936), one child, divorced.   Their child is the costume designer Sally Pearson.
3. Philip Merivale, actor, 1937–1946, widowed.   She was step-mother to the actor John Merivale (1917-1990).

Cooper died from pneumonia in Henley-on-Thames, England in 1971.   She was 82 years old.

Additional English stage history is available at:

Additional Broadway stage history is available at:

Additional biographical information is available at:

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