WORTH, IRENE

born June 23, 1916, Neb., U.S. American actress who worked extensively on the English stage. Worth trained as a teacher at the University of California, Los Angeles (B.Ed., 1937), and taught school for a few years before turning to the theatre. She made her stage debut in a touring production of Escape Me Never (1942) and her Broadway debut in The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1943). In 1944 she settled in London, where she remained for much of her career. While a pupil of Elsie Fogerty, Worth made her London debut as Elsie in The Time of Your Life in 1946. She quickly established herself as an actress of uncommon versatility and presence. Early roles included performances in Native Son (1948) and The Cocktail Party (194950). With the Old Vic Theatre, she portrayed numerous Shakespearean characters, including Desdemona ( Othello), Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream), and Portia (The Merchant of Venice). In 1953 she helped found the Stratford (Ontario, Canada) Festival and appeared there in All's Well That Ends Well and Richard III. She performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in King Lear (1962) in London and on a world tour. In 1965 Worth premiered the lead role in Edward Albee's Tiny Alice in New York City. She later appeared in Hedda Gabler (1970), The Seagull (1973), and Sweet Bird of Youth (1975). Her active stage career extended throughout the 1980s and '90s. Worth's motion pictures included Orders to Kill, for which she received the British Film Academy Award (1958), The Scapegoat (1959), and Seven Seas to Calais (1963). She also performed extensively on radio in England. Worth was equally adept at playing roles in classical drama, standard modern repertory, and avant-garde theatre. She was made an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1975.