Anna Lee (actress)

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Anna Lee (born January 2, 1913 in Ightham , Kent , England - † May 14, 2004 in Beverly Hills , California , USA ; actually Joan Boniface Winnifrith ) was a British-American actress .

Career

At 17 she began her training as an actress. She enrolled in the Central School of Speech and Training and Dramatic Art at the Royal Albert Hall in London. After completing her studies, she became a member of the ensemble of the London Repertory Theater . In 1935 she signed a film contract and by 1939 stood in front of the camera for more than a dozen films.

In 1939 she left England and moved to the United States. In 1940 she met John Ford , under whose direction she played several times over the next 25 years. Anna Lee has been in front of the camera with many big stars, including Boris Karloff , John Wayne , Bette Davis , Joan Crawford , Charles Boyer . With the outbreak of the Second World War , Anna Lee interrupted her film career. She stood on the stage for the Allied troops in Central, North and East Africa , Iran and Sicily and had such a resounding success that General George S. Patton sent her to appear in war hospitals all over the Mediterranean in the following months .

In 1950 Anna Lee moved to New York to work for television . Her first job was a live weekly show that she appeared on for four years. In the following years she played in numerous films and TV productions. Her last role was in the US soap opera General Hospital , in which she played "Lila Quartermaine" from 1978 until her death in 2004.

Private

Anna Lee's father was a pastor at St. Peters Church in her hometown of Ightham. The actress is the godchild of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the actress Sybil Thorndike .

Anna Lee was married to the director Robert Stevenson from 1937 to 1944 , to the pilot George Stafford from 1944 to 1964 and to the writer Robert Nathan from 1970 until his death in 1985 . She was the mother of four children. Daughter Venetia Stevenson and son Jeffrey Byron are also actors.

In her free time, she was engaged in embroidery and collecting antiques . The actress was also actively involved in the conservation organization Royal Oak Foundation of California.

Awards

In 1983 the artist was awarded the MBE (Member of the most excellent order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace .

Filmography (selection)

Movie

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Web links

personal data
SURNAME Lee, Anna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Winnifrith, Joanna Boniface (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British-American actress
DATE OF BIRTH January 2, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Ightham , Kent , England
DATE OF DEATH May 14, 2004
Place of death Beverly Hills , California , USA