By now, almost everyone knows that the iconic and legendary Irish-British-American actress Angela Lansbury has passed away on October 11, 2022. But a few people know that at the time of her death at the age of 96, she was among the few surviving movie actresses from Hollywood’s Golden Age.
The career of Angela Lansbury lasted eight decades, and it was among the longest ones in the entertainment industry. In this article, we are going to share Angela Lansbury’s net worth, her early life, her exceptional career, her personal life, and several other things.
Angela Lansbury’s Net Worth
As confirmed by several websites, Angela Lansbury’s net worth was a whopping $70 million.
Early Life of Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury was born in Regent’s Park, Central London, England on October 16, 1925. Her full name was Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury. Her mother was Charlotte Lillian McIIdowie, commonly known as Moyna MacGill, an Irish model and actress. Moyna MacGill appeared in several West End theatrical productions, as well as, films. Angela Lansbury’s father was Edgar Lansbury, a wealthy British politician and timber merchant. Edgar Lansbury was the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar’s former mayor and the Communist Party of Great Britain’s member.
Angela Lansbury had an older half-sister Isolde Denham. Isolde was the child of Moyna McGill and Reginald Denham, who was Moyna’s ex-husband. In addition to this, Angela had twin brothers named Bruce Lansbury and Edgar Lansbury.
Angela’s father Edgar Lansbury passed away because of stomach cancer when she was just nine years old. This prompted Angela to start acting. During this time, Angela mastered the piano and developed a movie obsession. She received her education at South Hampstead High School. Later, she enrolled in “The Rotman School of Dancing,” a music school, to obtain more knowledge of music. Afterward, she received acting training in Kensington, West London, at the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art. She began making her stage debuts and started adopting different roles as a coping mechanism.
During World War II, in 1940, Moyna McGill decided to leave London with her children to get away from the bombing raids. The family first landed in Montreal, Canada, and finally relocated to New York City in the United States. During her time in New York, Angela studied at the Feagin School of Drama and Radio from 1940 to 1942, continuing her acting education. She also started appearing in stage productions. In 1942, Angela completed her graduation from drama school.
Early Career of Angela Lansbury
When Angela was 16 years old, she gained her first acting work alongside Moyna McGill. Her weekly earning was $60 from singing songs at nightclubs. Eventually, Angela shifted to Los Angeles with her mother to pursue a film career. There she worked at a department store for a short period of time. During this time, Angela supported the whole family on a weekly wage of $28.
Success Story of Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury received her real breakthrough when she met a British playwright name John van Druten. John had just finished writing the script for “Gaslight,” a psychological thriller. In the year 1944, Angela made her film debut with Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight. While on set, her weekly earning was $500. In the film, she played the role of a devious cockney maid.
Her work in the film was praised by critics and she received a nomination for an Academy Award in the category of “Best Supporting Actress.” Next, she appeared in the 1944 film “National Velvet.” In the film, she played the role of the snobbish sister of Elizabeth Taylor. Then, Angela appeared in the 1945 film “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and was again nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting performance.
After her exceptional film debut, Angela signed a contract with MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer). The duration of the contract was seven years and Angela earned $500 a week. During the contract, she appeared in 11 films by MGM, between 1945 and 1952. From time to time, MGM asked Angela to appear in other films made by other studios. She appeared in the 1947 film “The Private Affairs of Bel Ami” by United Artists and in the 1949 film “Samson and Delilah” by Paramount Pictures.
In 1948, Angela started doing radio roles. In 1950, she made her television debut. She appeared on television regularly and became a regular on “Pantomime Quiz,” a game show that lasted from 1947 to 1959.
Angela played different roles with equal aplomb and showed her versatility in films like “The Harvey Girls,” “The Three Musketeers,” and “State of the Union.” During the 1950s, she appeared in movies like “The Court Jester,” “The Long, Hot Summer,” and “A Lawless Street,” and astonished the world with her ability to play character roles. In the 1961 film “Blue Hawaii,” Angela was cast together with Elvis Presley. In the film, Elvis played the role of her son.
The most acclaimed screen performance of Angela Lansbury came in the 1962 film “The Manchurian Candidate” by John Frankenheimer. For this film, Angela received her third Academy Award nomination. Some other popular films of Angela include “The Mirror Crack’d,” “Death on the Nile,” “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” “Nanny McPhee,” and “Mary Poppins Returns.”
Although Angela achieved notable success in films, she became a frontline star for her roles received on the Broadway stage. Angela made her Broadway debut in “Hotel Paradiso” and played leading roles in “A Taste of Honey” and “Anyone Can Whistle.” She played the title role in “Mame,” which was her major breakthrough. Angela won her first Tony Award for her role in the musical.
Angela won three more Tony Awards for her performances in “Dear World,” “Gypsy,” and “Sweeny Todd.” Later stage works of Angela Lansbury were “Deuce,” “A Little Night Music,” “The Best Man,” and revivals of “Mame.” In 2009, she played the role of an eccentric medium in “Blithe Spirit,” for which she won her fifth Tony Award. Angela reprised the role five years later in the play’s West End production. Later she won an Olivier Award in the category of best actress in a supporting role.
Angela became greatly popular when she played the role of Jessica Fletcher, a mystery author, in “Murder, She Wrote.” The television series ran for 12 series, from 1984 to 1996. From the series, she earned about $300,000 per episode. The series attracted a huge audience during its run and became the longest-running detective drama in the history of television. In 1992, Angela became the show’s executive producer, and she continued to give occasional appearances in TV movies as Jessica Fletcher for years after the official end of the series. Later, Angela returned to television with her role as Aunt March in “Little Women,” a miniseries.
Angela was also a popular voice-over artist and lent her vocal skills to animated features in “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Last Unicorn,” “Anastasia,” “The Grinch,” and “Fantasia 2000.”
In 2013, Angela received an honorary Academy Award. In 2022, she received another Tony Award for lifetime achievement. Additionally, the New Year Honours List for 2014 included Angela as the Order of the British Empire’s Dame Commander (DBE). She also received nominations for Golden Globe Awards fifteen times and won six times. She won Golden Globe Awards in 1946 (The Picture of Dorian Gray), 1963 (The Manchurian Candidate), 1985 (Murder, She Wrote), 1987 (Murder, She Wrote), 1990 (Murder, She Wrote), and 1992 (Murder, She Wrote).
Personal life of Angela Lansbury
Now that you have a clear idea of Angela Lansbury’s net worth, her early life, and her success story, let’s take a look at her personal life. In 1945, when Angela was 19 years old, she married actor Richard Cromwell. But they got divorced in 1946. In 1949, Angela married actor Peter Shaw. Peter Shaw passed away in 2003. Angela Lansbury has three children named David Shaw (stepson), Anthony Pullen Shaw, and Deidre Angela Shaw. She also has three grandchildren named Ian, Peter, and Katherine together with five great-grandchildren.
