orig. Frances Margaret Anderson
born Feb. 10, 1898, Adelaide, S.Aus., Australia
died Jan. 3, 1992, Santa Barbara, Calif., U.S.
Australian-born U.S. actress.
She made her stage debut in Sydney in 1915 and first appeared in New York City in 1918. She was noted for roles such as Lavinia in Mourning Becomes Electra (1932), Gertrude in Hamlet (1936), Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (1937, 1941), and the title role in Medea (1947). She appeared in over 25 films, usually playing an evil or sinister figure, including Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca (1940) and Ann Treadwell in Laura (1944).