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Jessica Tandy

Acting 85 (deceased) years old London, England ★ 1.4
Born: June 7, 1909
Died: September 11, 1994

Biography

Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy (June 7, 1909 – September 11, 1994) was an English-American stage and film actress.

She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films. Following the end of her marriage to Jack Hawkins, she moved to New York, where she met Canadian actor Hume Cronyn. He became her second husband and frequent partner on stage and screen.

She won the Tony Award for her performance as Blanche Dubois in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948, sharing the prize with Katherine Cornell (who won for Antony and Cleopatra) and Judith Anderson (for the latter's portrayal of Medea). Over the following three decades, her career continued sporadically and included a substantial role in Alfred Hitchcock's film, The Birds (1963), and a Tony Award-winning performance in The Gin Game (playing in the two-character play opposite her husband, Cronyn) in 1977. She, along with Cronyn was a member of the original acting company of The Guthrie Theater.

In the mid 1980s she enjoyed a career revival. She appeared opposite Hume Cronyn in the Broadway production of Foxfire in 1983 and its television adaptation four years later, winning both a Tony Award and an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Annie Nations. During these years, she appeared in films such as Cocoon (1985), also with Cronyn.

She became the oldest actress to receive the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Driving Miss Daisy (1989), for which she also won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Fried Green Tomatoes (1991). At the height of her success, she was named as one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People". She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1990, and continued working until shortly before her death.

External Links

🎬 IMDb

Known For

Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards Self - Nominee 1944
Studio One
Studio One Connaught O'Brien 1948
Studio One
Studio One Mrs. Moore 1948
The F.B.I.
The F.B.I. Ardyth Nolan 1965
The Birds
The Birds Lydia Brenner 1963

Filmography

Acting Credits (73)

A Streetcar on Broadway
A Streetcar on Broadway Self (archive footage) 2006
Jessica Tandy: Theatre Legend to Screen Star
Jessica Tandy: Theatre Legend to Screen Star Self (archive footage) 2003
Miss Daisy's Journey: From Stage to Screen
Miss Daisy's Journey: From Stage to Screen Daisy Werthan (archive footage) (uncredited) 2003
Moments of Discovery: The Making of Fried Green Tomatoes
Moments of Discovery: The Making of Fried Green Tomatoes Self 1998
Nobody's Fool
Nobody's Fool Beryl Peoples 1994
Camilla
Camilla Camilla Cara 1994
To Dance with the White Dog
To Dance with the White Dog Cora Peek 1993
Intimate Portrait
Intimate Portrait Self 1993
Used People
Used People Freida 1992
Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried Green Tomatoes Ninny Threadgoode 1991
The Story Lady
The Story Lady Grace McQueen 1991
Dream On
Dream On (archive footage) 1990
Night of 100 Stars III
Night of 100 Stars III Self 1990
Driving Miss Daisy
Driving Miss Daisy Daisy Werthan 1989
Cocoon: The Return
Cocoon: The Return Alma Finley 1988
The House on Carroll Street
The House on Carroll Street Miss Venable 1988
*batteries not included
*batteries not included Faye Riley 1987
Foxfire
Foxfire Annie Nations 1987
Cocoon
Cocoon Alma Finley 1985
The Bostonians
The Bostonians Miss Birdseye 1984
Best Friends
Best Friends Eleanor McCullen 1982
Still of the Night
Still of the Night Grace Rice 1982
The World According to Garp
The World According to Garp Mrs. Fields 1982
Honky Tonk Freeway
Honky Tonk Freeway Carol 1981
The Gin Game
The Gin Game Fonsia Dorsey 1981
The Kennedy Center Honors
The Kennedy Center Honors Self 1978
Butley
Butley Edna Shaft 1974
Tennessee Williams' South
Tennessee Williams' South 1973
Judd for the Defense
Judd for the Defense 1967
Judd for the Defense
Judd for the Defense Helen Wister 1967
The F.B.I.
The F.B.I. Ardyth Nolan 1965
The Birds
The Birds Lydia Brenner 1963
The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show Self 1962
Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man
Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man Mrs. Helen Adams 1962
The Moon and Sixpence
The Moon and Sixpence Blanche Stroeve 1959
The Christmas Tree
The Christmas Tree Mrs. Martin 1958
The Light in the Forest
The Light in the Forest Myra Butler 1958
Suspicion
Suspicion 1957
Telephone Time
Telephone Time 1956
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Edwina Freel 1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Julia Lester 1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Laura Bowlby 1955
The Fourposter
The Fourposter 1955
Producers' Showcase
Producers' Showcase Agnes 1954
The Marriage
The Marriage Liz Marriott 1954
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater Laura Whitemore 1953
Omnibus
Omnibus 1952
Omnibus
Omnibus Self - Reader 1952
Omnibus
Omnibus Louisa Catherine Johnson 1952
Omnibus
Omnibus Jackie 1952
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame Mrs. Martin 1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame Annie Nations 1951
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel Frau Lucie Marie Rommel 1951
Goodyear Television Playhouse
Goodyear Television Playhouse Leticia Blacklock 1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Cora Torrence 1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Bertha Jacks 1951
September Affair
September Affair Catherine Lawrence 1950
Prudential Family Playhouse
Prudential Family Playhouse 1950
Lights Out
Lights Out 1949
Studio One
Studio One Connaught O'Brien 1948
Studio One
Studio One Mrs. Moore 1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
The Philco Television Playhouse Liz Marriott 1948
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show Self 1948
A Woman's Vengeance
A Woman's Vengeance Janet Spence 1948
Forever Amber
Forever Amber Nan Britton 1947
The Green Years
The Green Years Kate Leckie 1946
Dragonwyck
Dragonwyck Peggy O'Malley 1946
The Valley of Decision
The Valley of Decision Louise Kane 1945
Blonde Fever
Blonde Fever Restaurant Patron (uncredited) 1944
The Seventh Cross
The Seventh Cross Liesel Roeder 1944
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards Self - Nominee 1944
Murder in the Family
Murder in the Family Ann Osborne 1938
Indiscretions of Eve
Indiscretions of Eve Penelope, the Maid 1932

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