Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies

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Dame Gwen Lucy Ffrangcon-Davies, DBE (25 January 1891 – 27 January 1992) was a British actress and centenarian.

Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies was born in London of a Welsh family; the name "Ffrangcon" originates from a valley in Snowdonia. Her parents were David Ffrangcon Davies and Annie Francis Rayner.

[edit] Career

She made her stage debut in 1911, as a singer as well as an actress, and received encouragement in her career from Ellen Terry. In 1924, she played Juliet opposite John Gielgud as Romeo, and Gielgud was grateful to her for the rest of his life for the kindness she showed him ^[1], casting her as Queen Anne in his box office smash Richard of Bordeaux in 1934.

In 1938, she appeared with Ivor Novello in a production of Henry V at Drury Lane. In the same year she appeared as Mrs Manningham in the first production of Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton. She played Lady Macbeth for almost an entire year in 1942 opposite John Gielgud's Macbeth.

She retired from the stage in 1970, but continued to appear on radio and television. She was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1991, aged 100, six months before her death at age 101, and made her final acting appearance in a teleplay of the Sherlock Holmes story The Master Blackmailer opposite Jeremy Brett that same year.

Her films included The Witches (1966) and The Devil Rides Out (1968), both for Hammer Films.

[edit] References

• Martial Rose, Forever Juliet: The Life and Letters of Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies 1891-1992 (2003)
• Gwen Ffrangcon Davies at the Internet Movie Database