Evans, Dame Edith

Evans, Dame Edith, 1888–1976, English actress. After her stage debut in 1912, Evans toured with Ellen Terry. Known for her resonant voice, she worked with the Old Vic (1925–26) and had a distinguished career on the stage and in films. She was celebrated for her performances in Elizabethan, Restoration, and 18th-century drama, as well as in modern works. Evans was made Dame of the British Empire in 1946. Her notable films include The Importance of Being Earnest (1953), Tom Jones (1963), The Whisperers (1967), and A Doll's House (1973).

Bibliography

See study by J. C. Trewin (1954).

---

Evans, Dame Edith (Mary)

Dame Edith Evans as Mrs. Ross in The Whisperers, 1967.

(credit: Courtesy of Seven Pines Productions Ltd.; photograph, Pictorial Parade)

(born Feb. 8, 1888, London, Eng.—died Oct. 14, 1976, Cranbrook, Kent) British actress. She made her stage debut as Cressida in William Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida (1912) and joined the Old Vic company in 1925. One of the finest actresses of the 20th century, she appeared in London and on Broadway in plays by Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, and Noël Coward. She played Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest on stage and screen (1952). Her other films include Look Back in Anger (1959), Tom Jones (1963), The Chalk Garden (1964), and The Whisperers (1967).