Diana Wynyard

She died from renal disease in London in 1964, aged 58, while rehearsing "The Master Builder" with Michael Redgrave and Maggie Smith as part of the new National Theatre Company. Celia Johnson replaced her.

One of her last significant screen roles was as James Mason's mother in Island in the Sun (1957).

She was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1953 Queen's New Year Honours List for her services to drama.

Diana Wynyard appeared in smaller supporting roles during the 1950s and, in keeping with her confession "I don't really want to be a film star", gradually returned to the Shakespearean stage.

On stage, she played Beatrice, first opposite Anthony Quayle and later John Gielgud, in 'Much ado about nothing' (Australian tour, 1949-50). Other parts included Katherine in 'The Taming of the Shrew' and Hermione in 'The Winter's Tale'.

She gave other sensitive performances in The Prime Minister (1941), with John Gielgud as Benjamin Disraeli, and The Remarkable Mr.

Kipps (1941), with Michael Redgrave, both directed by Carol Reed. Her subsequent marriage to Reed lasted just four years.

One of the outstanding stage actresses of her time, Diana Wynyard will always be remembered for her unforgettable performance in the British version of the thriller Gaslight (1940) (re-made in Hollywood in 1944 with Ingrid Bergman). Starring opposite the great Anton Walbrook, she played the part of terrorized Bella Mallen (driven to the point of insanity by her evil husband) with an ethereal, haunted fragility.

In 1937, she played Eliza Doolittle in 'Pygmalion'.

Another review of Diana Wynyard, this time for One More River (1934), described her acting as 'stirringly sincere'. Her Hollywood career lasted only two years before the actress returned to England.

However, her best performance was with Clive Brook in Noël Coward's Cavalcade (1933), for which she received an Academy Award nomination.

The New York Times (June 6, 1933) remarked, "Miss Wynyard is excellent as Jane Marryot. She portrays her role with such sympathy and feeling that one scarcely thinks of her as an actress".

In 1932, she was signed to a contract at MGM and was cast opposite the three Barrymores in Rasputin and the Empress (1932).

Diana Wynyard was educated at the Woodford School in Croydon and first appeared on the stage in London in 1925, debuting in 'Sorry, You've been Troubled' as Lady Sheridan. She soon became one of the great stars of the British theatre with a wide-ranging repertoire, which included Shakespeare, Chekhov and Shaw.