Elsa Sullivan Lanchester

 Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (October 28, 1902 – December 26, 1986)

Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the First World War began performing in theatre and cabaret, where she established her career over the following decade. She began playing small roles in British films, including the role of Anne of Cleves with husband Charles Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). Laughton's success in American films resulted in the couple moving to Hollywood, where Lanchester played small film roles. Her role as the title character in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) brought her recognition. She played supporting roles through the 1940s and 1950s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Come to the Stable (1949) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957), the last of twelve films in which she appeared with Laughton. Following Laughton's death in 1962, Lanchester resumed her career with appearances in such Disney films as Mary Poppins (1964), That Darn Cat! (1965) and Blackbeard's Ghost (1968). The horror film Willard (1971) was highly successful, and one of her last roles was in Murder by Death (1976). She was married to actor Charles Laughton from 1929 until his death in 1962, they had no children. Elsa Lanchester died in Woodland Hills, California on December 26,1986 aged 84, at the Motion Picture Hospital from pneumonia. Her body was cremated, and the ashes scattered.