Constance Collier

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Constance Collier (photo by Carl van Vechten , 1932)

Constance Collier (* 22. January 1878 in Windsor , England as Laura Hardie Constance ; † 25. April 1955 in New York City ) was a British actress and drama teacher.

life and career

At the age of three, Constance Collier appeared on stage for the first time in the Shakespeare play A Midsummer Night's Dream . From the turn of the century, the actress, who was considered a beauty in her youth, became one of the most important theater actresses of her time. On the big stages in London she played in many acclaimed plays, the dark-haired actress worked particularly often with Herbert Beerbohm Tree . She later appeared regularly on Broadway in New York and wrote plays herself.

In 1916 Collier made her film debut in the silent film The Tongues of Men , but it was only after the start of the sound film era that she increasingly appeared in films. At this point she was already over 50 years old, which is why she mainly played supporting roles. Collier starred alongside Greta Garbo in the literary film adaptation of Anna Karenina (1935) , she starred in the stage entrance with Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers (1937) and alongside Joan Crawford in Susan und der liebe Gott (1940) . In 1948, Collier played in Alfred Hitchcock's crime film Cocktail for a Corpse alongside James Stewart a lively lady from better society, a role type she played in many of her films. A year later, Collier shot the last of a total of 28 films with Frau am Abgrund . Then she withdrew into private life.

In addition, she worked as an acting teacher since the 1930s. Her students were among others Audrey Hepburn , Vivien Leigh , Luise Rainer , Marilyn Monroe and Katharine Hepburn, with the latter she was close friends. Collier has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . She was married to actor Julian L'Estrange from 1912 until his death from the Spanish flu in 1918. They had no children and Collier never married again after his death.

Filmography

Constance Collier in the role of Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (1906)

Web links

Commons : Constance Collier  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Biography in the IMDb , accessed on July 2, 2008
personal data
SURNAME Collier, Constance
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actress
DATE OF BIRTH January 22, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Windsor , England , UK
DATE OF DEATH April 25, 1955
Place of death New York City , New York , United States