Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (October 28, 1902 – December 26, 1986) was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television and former dancer.
Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (October 28, 1902 – December 26, 1986) was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television and former dancer.
Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the First World War began performing in theatre and cabaret, where she established her career over the following decade. She met the actor Charles Laughton in 1927, and they were married two years later. She began playing small roles in British films, including the role of Anne of Cleves with Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). Laughton's success in American films resulted in the couple moving to Hollywood, where Lanchester played small film roles.
Her role as the bride in Bride of Frankenstein (1935), brought her recognition, and came to be one of the roles most closely associated with her throughout her life. Lanchester played supporting roles through the 1940s and 1950s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Come to the Stable (1949) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957), the last of twelve films in which she appeared with Laughton. Following Laughton's death in 1962, Lanchester resumed her career with appearances in such Disney films as Mary Poppins (1964), That Darn Cat! (1965) and Blackbeard's Ghost (1968). The horror film, Willard, (1971) was highly successful and one of her last roles was in Murder By Death (1976).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Elsa Lanchester, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0006471
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q233009
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Filmography (Movies)
Legacy of Screams: The Evolution of Horror Movies
Character:Self - (archive footage)
Release Date:21/11/2025
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:27/07/2018
Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film
Character:Mary Shelley / The Monster's Mate (archive footage)
Release Date:01/08/2014
Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:16/05/2007
The American Nightmare
Character:Self
Release Date:11/09/2000
Universal Horror
Character:(archive footage)
Release Date:08/10/1998
Turnabout: The Story of the Yale Puppeteers
Character:Self
Release Date:25/10/1993
Commercial Entertainment Product
Character:The Monster's Bride
Release Date:24/11/1992
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
Character:Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate
Release Date:01/01/1991
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
Character:
Release Date:19/09/1988
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Character:Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:25/02/1983
Die Laughing
Character:Sophie
Release Date:01/04/1980
Murder by Death
Character:Jessica Marbles
Release Date:23/06/1976
Arnold
Character:Hester
Release Date:16/11/1973
Terror in the Wax Museum
Character:Julia Hawthorn
Release Date:02/05/1973
Willard
Character:Henrietta Stiles
Release Date:30/07/1971
In Name Only
Character:Gertrude Caruso
Release Date:25/11/1969
My Dog, the Thief
Character:Mrs. Formby
Release Date:21/09/1969
Me, Natalie
Character:Miss Dennison
Release Date:13/07/1969
Rascal
Character:Mrs. Satterfield
Release Date:11/06/1969
Blackbeard's Ghost
Character:Emily Stowecroft
Release Date:08/02/1968
Easy Come, Easy Go
Character:Madame Neherina
Release Date:28/05/1967
That Darn Cat!
Character:Mrs. MacDougall
Release Date:02/12/1965
Mary Poppins
Character:Katie Nanna
Release Date:17/12/1964
Pajama Party
Character:Aunt Wendy
Release Date:11/11/1964
Honeymoon Hotel
Character:Chambermaid
Release Date:03/06/1964
Noah and the Flood
Character:Noah's wife
Release Date:05/05/1962
Noah and the Flood
Character:Noah's Wife
Release Date:01/01/1962
Bell, Book and Candle
Character:Aunt Queenie Holroyd
Release Date:25/12/1958
Witness for the Prosecution
Character:Miss Plimsoll
Release Date:17/12/1957
Alice in Wonderland
Character:Red Queen
Release Date:23/10/1955
Heidi
Character:Fräulein Rottenmeier
Release Date:01/10/1955
The Glass Slipper
Character:Widow Sonder
Release Date:24/03/1955
3 Ring Circus
Character:The Bearded Lady
Release Date:22/12/1954
Hell's Half Acre
Character:Lida O'Reilly
Release Date:01/06/1954
The Girls of Pleasure Island
Character:Thelma
Release Date:01/04/1953
Androcles and the Lion
Character:Megaera
Release Date:01/12/1952
Les Miserables
Character:Madame Magloire
Release Date:14/08/1952
Dreamboat
Character:Mathilda Coffey
Release Date:26/07/1952
Frenchie
Character:Countess
Release Date:25/12/1950
The Petty Girl
Character:Dr. Crutcher
Release Date:17/08/1950
Mystery Street
Character:Mrs. Smerrling
Release Date:23/06/1950
Buccaneer's Girl
Character:Madame Brizar
Release Date:01/03/1950
The Inspector General
Character:Maria
Release Date:31/12/1949
Come to the Stable
Character:Amelia Potts
Release Date:27/07/1949
The Secret Garden
Character:Martha
Release Date:30/04/1949
The Big Clock
Character:Louise Patterson
Release Date:18/03/1948
The Bishop's Wife
Character:Matilda
Release Date:25/12/1947
Northwest Outpost
Character:Princess 'Tanya' Tatiana
Release Date:25/06/1947
The Razor's Edge
Character:Miss Keith
Release Date:19/11/1946
The Spiral Staircase
Character:Mrs. Oates
Release Date:26/01/1946
Passport to Destiny
Character:Ella Muggins
Release Date:31/01/1944
Lassie Come Home
Character:Mrs. Helen Carraclough
Release Date:01/12/1943
Thumbs Up
Character:Emily "Emmy" Ffinch
Release Date:05/07/1943
Forever and a Day
Character:Mamie
Release Date:21/01/1943
Tales of Manhattan
Character:Mrs. Smith
Release Date:05/08/1942
Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake
Character:Bristol Isabel
Release Date:29/01/1942
Ladies in Retirement
Character:Emily Creed
Release Date:09/09/1941
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Character:Self
Release Date:31/07/1940
Vessel of Wrath
Character:Martha Jones
Release Date:04/03/1938
Rembrandt
Character:Hendrickje Stoffels
Release Date:06/11/1936
The Ghost Goes West
Character:Miss Shepperton
Release Date:17/12/1935
Bride of Frankenstein
Character:Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate
Release Date:20/04/1935
Naughty Marietta
Character:Madame d'Annard
Release Date:29/03/1935
David Copperfield
Character:Clickett
Release Date:18/01/1935
The Private Life of Henry VIII
Character:Anne of Cleves
Release Date:17/08/1933
The Officers' Mess
Character:Cora Melville
Release Date:08/05/1931
Potiphar's Wife
Character:Thérèse
Release Date:28/03/1931
The Stronger Sex
Character:Thompson
Release Date:26/02/1931
The Love Habit
Character:Matilde
Release Date:16/01/1931
Ashes
Character:Girl
Release Date:31/12/1930
Comets
Character:Herself
Release Date:19/09/1930
Blue Bottles
Character:Elsa
Release Date:05/05/1928
Daydreams
Character:Elsa / Heroine in Dream Sequence
Release Date:01/05/1928
The Tonic
Character:Elsa
Release Date:01/05/1928
The Constant Nymph
Character:Lady
Release Date:20/02/1928
One of the Best
Character:Kitty
Release Date:01/11/1927
The Scarlet Woman: An Ecclesiastical Melodrama
Character:Beatrice de Carolle
Release Date:01/01/1924
Television Appearances
Night Gallery
Character:
Nanny and the Professor
Character:Aunt Henrietta
Then Came Bronson
Character:Hattie Calter
The Bill Cosby Show
Character:Mrs. Wochuk
Here's Lucy
Character:Mumsie Westcott
The Dick Cavett Show
Character:Self - Guest
Mannix
Character:Portia Penhaven
Mannix
Character:Edna Barrington
The John Forsythe Show
Character:Margaret Culver
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Character:Dr. Agnes Dabree
Burke's Law
Character:Mrs. Ormsby
Burke's Law
Character:Bessie Mopes
The Merv Griffin Show
Character:Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Character:Self
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Character:Aggie McGregor
Ben Casey
Character:
Follow the Sun
Character:
Adventures in Paradise
Character:Miss Creshaw
Shirley Temple's Storybook
Character:Mother Goose
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Character:Self
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Character:Self
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Character:
The Wonderful World of Disney
Character:Mrs. Formby
General Electric Theater
Character:Hanna Winters
The Ford Television Theatre
Character:Rosie Bowker
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Character:Red Queen
I Love Lucy
Character:Edna Grundy
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Character:Betsey Monk, the Widow
Lux Video Theatre
Character:Emily
Lux Video Theatre
Character:Miss Mabel
Star Time
Character:Self
Robert Montgomery Presents
Character:
The Ed Wynn Show
Character:Self
Studio One
Character:Jenny Pratt
The Ed Sullivan Show
Character:Self
Golden Globe Awards
Character:Self - Presenter
Images
