orig. Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft
born Dec. 22, 1907, Croydon, London, Eng.
died June 14, 1991, London
British actress.
She made her debut in 1927 and appeared from 1932 with the Old Vic company, winning acclaim in Romeo and Juliet (1935). She starred in more than 100 stage productions, playing comedy and tragedy with equal success. One of the great actresses of the British stage, she was a founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Co. (1961) and later a director. She acted in films such as The Thirty-nine Steps (1935) and A Passage to India (1984, Academy Award) and in the television series The Jewel in the Crown (1984).