Dame Angela Lansbury

One of our most iconic alumnae has died, just days before her 97th birthday.

A Hollywood and Broadway star for more than seven decades, Angela Lansbury was best known to millions of TV viewers as Jessica Fletcher – a retired English teacher and amateur sleuth – in the long-running series, Murder, She Wrote.

Angela attended South Hampstead from 1934 to 1939, when she became interested in the drama of the silver screen. She pursued her passion for acting at London’s Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art before continuing her training at the Feagin School of Dramatic Art in New York, after her family decamped to the US following the outbreak of war.

The Oscar-nominated actor played roles in numerous films including National Velvet (1944), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), The Company of Wolves (1984), Nanny McPhee (2005) and Mr Popper’s Penguins (2011). She won five Tony Awards, including four Best Actress In A Musical awards for her roles in Mame, Dear World, Gypsy, and the 1979 production of Sweeney Todd. Her voice also became synonymous with one of Disney’s biggest animated films, as she performed the titular song to Beauty and the Beast (1991).

In recognition of her illustrious career, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Her Late Majesty in 2014. Modern Family actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson described the star as “graceful and witty”, while Seinfield actor Jason Alexander paid tribute to: “One of the most versatile, talented… wise, classy ladies I’ve ever met.” 

She is quoted as saying: “Bringing humour and bringing happiness and joy to an audience is a wonderful opportunity in life…” – the true embodiment of our school motto, Mehr Licht!   

Her legacy has inspired future generations of pupils, including Sixth Form Drama Scholar, Martha – an aspiring Musical Theatre Performer.  Martha was interviewed by ITV London News, captured singing a duet from Beauty and the Beast with our Director of Drama, Ms Martin, in tribute to the legendary performer’s glittering career on stage and screen – watch the clip here.