born Oct. 10, 1900, Washington, D.C., U.S.
died March 17, 1993, Nyack, N.Y.
U.S. actress.
She began her stage career at age five and made her Broadway debut at nine. She went on to an illustrious career, starring in Broadway productions such as Caesar and Cleopatra (1925), What Every Woman Knows (1926), and The Animal Kingdom (1932) and became known as "the First Lady of the American Theatre." Her small physical size belied a majestic stage presence that made her memorable in Mary of Scotland (1933–34) and Victoria Regina (1935–39). She starred in revivals of The Skin of Our Teeth (1955), The Glass Menagerie (1956), and Long Day's Journey into Night (1971), acted in numerous radio and television plays, and won Academy Awards for her films The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) and Airport (1970), three Tony Awards, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was married to Charles MacArthur .