Valerie Hobson

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Valerie Hobson
from the trailer for Bride of Frankenstein
Born	Babette Valerie Louise Hobson April 14, 1917(1917-04-14) Larne, County Antrim, Ireland (now in Northern Ireland)
Died	November 13, 1998 (aged 81) Westminster, London, England

Valerie Hobson (April 14, 1917 Larne, County Antrim – November 13, 1998 Westminster, London, England ^[1]) was a British actress, who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s. She was born Babette Valerie Louise Hobson in Larne, County Antrim, Ireland.

She appeared as Baroness Frankenstein in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) with Boris Karloff and Colin Clive, taking over the role from Mae Clarke, who had played it in the original Frankenstein (1931). (This role should not be confused with that of the Monster's Mate, played by Elsa Lanchester.) Hobson also played opposite Henry Hull that same year in Werewolf of London, the first Hollywood werewolf movie, predating The Wolf Man by six years.

The latter half of the 1940s saw Hobson in perhaps her two most memorable roles: as the adult Estella in David Lean's 1946 adaptation of Great Expectations, and as the refined and virtuous Edith D'Ascoyne in the 1949 black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets.

In 1952 she divorced her first husband, film producer Sir Anthony Havelock-Allan (1904-2003), and married MP John Profumo, giving up acting shortly afterwards. After Profumo's ministerial career ended in disgrace in 1963, following revelations he had lied to the House of Commons about his affair with Christine Keeler, she stood by him, and they worked together for charity for the remainder of her life.

She died of a heart attack in London in 1998 and is buried in Surrey, England.

[edit] Selected filmography

• The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935)
• Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
• Werewolf of London (1935)
• The Drum (1938)
• Q Planes (1939)
• The Spy in Black (1939)
• Contraband (1940)
• Unpublished Story (1942)
• The Adventures of Tartu (1943)
• Great Expectations (1946). Hobson also acted in the 1934 version, in the role of Biddy, but her scenes were cut.
• Blanche Fury (1948)
• Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
• The Rocking Horse Winner (1950)
• The Card (1952)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Valerie Hobson at the Internet Movie Database
• Valerie Hobson at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Photographs of Valerie Hobson

Persondata
NAME	Hobson, Valerie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Hobson, Babette Valerie Louise
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actor
DATE OF BIRTH	1917-04-14
PLACE OF BIRTH	Larne, County Antrim, Ireland (now in Northern Ireland)
DATE OF DEATH	1998-11-13
PLACE OF DEATH	Westminster, London, England