Margaret Lockwood
Margaret Lockwood,
CBE (
15 September,
1916 -
15 July,
1990) was a
British actress.
Christened
Mary Margaret Lockwood Day in
Karachi,
British India (now
Pakistan), Lockwood's family returned to the United Kingdom while she was a child.
She made her stage debut at the age of 12, and trained at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in
London, where she was seen by a talent scout and signed to a contract. In 1935 she appeared in the film version of
Lorna Doone, and in 1938 she played the role of Jenny Sunley, the self-centred, frivolous wife of
Michael Redgrave's character in the film,
The Stars Look Down. Her most successful film of the 1930s was
Alfred Hitchcock's
The Lady Vanishes, in which she again stars with Redgrave. She also appeared in the
Gate Theatre,
Dublin, during which time she accidentally set her dressing room on fire.
In the early 1940s she changed her on-screen image to play villainesses in both contemporary and period films, becoming the most successful actress in British films during that period. Her greatest success was in the title role in
The Wicked Lady (1945), a film which was controversial in its day and brought Lockwood considerable publicity.
She continued to act until the late 1970s. One of her last major roles was in the television series "Justice". She was created a
CBE in 1980. Her acceptance of this award marked her last public appearance.
She lived her final years in seclusion and died in
Kensington,
London, UK, from
cirrhosis of the liver, aged 73.
She is survived by her daughter, actress Julia Clark (neé Margaret Julia de Leon).
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Margaret Lockwood picture galleries
