The word “icon” is one that gets tossed about a lot these days.
But in a few instances, the adjective is wholly justified Angela Lansbury was one of these cases.
Her career picked up the pace and never really slowed down.
Take a closer look at this remarkable actress’s life and career.
From a young age, Angela was involved in acting, taking lessons, and appearing in school plays.
As a teenager in drama school, she quickly showed extraordinary promise.
“I went very fast in drama school and ended up working in one of the senior plays…
So they obviously knew that this young person had something.
She had a talent,” she said.
Soon, both Lansbury and her mother pursued acting careers first in New York and then in Los Angeles.
“We would do scenes from ‘Romeo And Juliet,’ and she would do scenes as Desdemona.
And she was very, very good at it.”
“And so, well, the rest, as they say, is history,” said Lansbury.
“I was absolutely knocked off my pins… Couldn’t believe it,” Lansbury recalled.
I can’t go on" (viaIrish Mirror).
For Lansbury, the revelation was a bit of a shock.
“I was in love with love,” she mused toNPR.
I had had no experience sexually, and I didn’t really didn’t know."
As Lansbury explained to Radio Times, she was never too upset about the end of the marriage.
But I don’t regret it" (via New Now Next).
However, despite her success, she wasn’t always happy with her career’s direction.
More often than not, the actress found herself playing characters who were much older than herself.
I never had those chocolate-box looks they wanted for romantic leads in those days."
At the time, she was 37 the man playing her son was onlytwoyears younger.
Her performance was critically acclaimed, and she even earned an Oscar nomination for her work.
According to theLos Angeles Times, many believe it to be her best role.
In some ways, Lansbury relished the meaty role.
“She was riveting and so interesting to play,” she toldNPR.
But the role also proved her breaking point with Hollywood and its typecasting.
What she really wanted to do was musical theater.
“I decided, ‘Forget it.
I’m going to sing now.
I’m going to make you happy by singing.'”
The role was a dream come true.
“It was everything I had envisioned for myself accomplishing in musical theater,” she said.
The role was new territory for Lansbury, who had previously appeared mainly in dramatic films.
“It was delightful,” she said in an interview (viaYouTube).
For Lansbury, this meant she had to act out certain expressions that had previously been decided.
While it wasn’t exactly the most sophisticated punch in of acting, her performance is still loved today.
The mystery series became a cult favorite.
Of course, when the show began, Lansbury had no idea what a success it would be.
So I was sort of trapped happily trapped for 12 years with it.
And I’m still playing Jessica from time to time and loving it.
I wouldn’t want to let go of that lady."
It’s clear that Lansbury loved her character.
Lansbury loved the fact that Jessica, her character, was never romantically involved with anyone.
“I felt that was 100 percent of her mystique,” she said toThe Gentlewoman.
She had success and the comfort and cosiness of her home, her pursuits, her friends."
As Mrs. Potts, Lansbury sang the titular song, which has gone on in cinematic history.
Along with the tape was a note offering her the part of Mrs. Potts.
“I mean, children no longer hid behind their mother’s skirts when I came around …
I was suddenly a heroine.”
In 2014, the actress told theDaily Mailthat they had shared a “perfect relationship.”
He would say, ‘Go do it; I will take care of things here.
And I was always thankful that he did."
When Shaw died, she was heartbroken.
“It’s not the life plan that one has,” she said.
“And it never occurs to you until suddenly it happens, and that special person is gone.”
As she once told the Observer, “‘Nanny McPhee’ pulled me out of the abyss.
I love Emma [Thompson].
She has an enormous heart” (viaIndependent).
When she was young,she worried about her appearance"What do I have?
However, as time went on, she learned self-acceptance.
As she said toThe Gentlewoman, “it really does” get easier with age.
In fact, she continued appearing on stage and screen well into her 90s.
“I don’t have a routine or a regimen.”
She said, “I think stamina is built into my constitution.”
Angela Lansbury died in her sleep in 2022
On October 11, 2022,Angela Lansbury died.
At the end of her life, Lansbury was happy to remember a life well-lived.
And she will certainly be remembered for decades to come.
Her huge contribution to the arts and the world remains always."
