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Diana Wynyard | |
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 Wynyard in 1933 | |
| Born | Dorothy Isobel Cox (1906-01-16)16 January 1906 Lewisham,South London, England |
| Died | 13 May 1964(1964-05-13) (aged 58) Holborn,Central London, England |
| Years active | 1928–1960 |
| Spouses | |
Diana Wynyard (bornDorothy Isobel Cox;[1] 16 January 1906 – 13 May 1964) was an English stage and film actress.
Born inLewisham,South London, Wynyard began her career on the stage. After performing inLiverpool and London with the Liverpool Repertory Company and theHamilton Deane Repertory Company,[2] she performed onBroadway, appearing first inRasputin and the Empress in 1932, withEthel,John, andLionel Barrymore. She appeared in the film version, beginning her brief Hollywood career.
Fox Film Corporation then borrowed her for their lavish film version ofNoël Coward's stage spectacleCavalcade (1933). As the noble wife and mother she aged gracefully against a background of theBoer War, the sinking of theTitanic, theFirst World War, and the arrival of theJazz Age. With this performance, she became the first British actress to be nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actress. After a handful of film roles, including playingJohn Barrymore's old flame inReunion in Vienna, she returned to Britain, but concentrated on theatre work, including roles asCharlotte Brontë inClemence Dane'sWild Decembers, inSweet Aloes, and as Gilda in the British premiere ofNoël Coward'sDesign for Living.
She was tempted to return to the screen to play oppositeRalph Richardson inOn the Night of the Fire (1939), a film directed byBrian Desmond Hurst. Her best remembered success was as the frightened heroine ofGaslight (1940), the first film version ofPatrick Hamilton's playGas Light. This was followed by roles oppositeClive Brook inFreedom Radio,John Gielgud inThe Prime Minister andMichael Redgrave inKipps (all 1941), directed byCarol Reed, later her first husband.
Her stage career flourished after the war, and as aShakespearean leading lady atStratford, in London'sWest End and on tour in Australia, she had her pick of star parts. Between 1948 and 1952, she playedPortia,Gertrude,Lady Macbeth,Katherine the shrew,Desdemona,Katherine of Aragon, Hermione inThe Winter's Tale, andBeatrice to Gielgud's Benedick inMuch Ado About Nothing. In this production, she succeeded her friendPeggy Ashcroft. Wynyard stumbled off the rostrum during the sleepwalking scene inMacbeth in 1948. She fell 15 feet, but was able to continue. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s she also had success in the works of several contemporary writers, including the British production ofTennessee Williams'sCamino Real.
She appeared inAlexander Korda's version ofAn Ideal Husband (1947), based on theOscar Wildeplay, but her remaining film appearances were in supporting roles. Usually maternal, these includedTom Brown's Schooldays (1951) and the secretive mother (ofJames Mason's character) inIsland in the Sun (1957). She playedEmpress Elisabeth of Austria inMayerling (1957), an early American television film which starredAudrey Hepburn. In 1958 she appeared in the West End inA Touch of the Sun byN.C. Hunter.
She was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1953.[3]
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She was married to the English film directorCarol Reed from 3 February 1943[4] until August 1947, and subsequently to a Hungarian physician, Tibor Csato.[5]
She died fromrenal disease inHolborn,Central London in 1964, aged 58, while rehearsingThe Master Builder withMichael Redgrave andMaggie Smith as part of the newNational Theatre Company.Celia Johnson replaced her.[6]
Her last television performance was in the playThe Man in the Panama Hat recorded in March 1964. Her death occurred before the intended broadcast in May 1964 and it was eventually shown posthumously on 21 September 1964.
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