Dame Angela Lansbury DBE has died at the age of 96 after a career spanning almost eight decades.
The award-winning actress appeared in theatre, television and several film roles and is most well known for starring in US drama Murder, She Wrote.
London-born Angela moved to America with her mother and two brothers in 1940 to escape the Blitz.
READ MORE: Murder, She Wrote star Angela Lansbury dies aged 96 as tributes pour in for late star
In 1942, Angela signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and obtained her first film roles in Gaslight in 1944 and The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1945, earning her two Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe Award.
Now icons of the music and showbiz world have paid tribute to the star, with rock legends Slade releasing a statement on Twitter which read: “If anyone deserves a two-week international mourning period, it’s this Irish-English-American queen who won five Tonys and was nominated for three Oscars and 18 Emmys. What a life, just shy of 97 years. Angela Lansbury, you f***ing legend.”
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Star Trek actor George Takei also paid tribute, posting on Twitter: “Angela Lansbury, who graced the stage for decades winning five Tony awards and brought the sleuthing Jessica Fletcher into our living rooms for a dozen years, has passed.
“A tale old as time, our beloved Mrs. Potts will sing lullabies to us now from the stars. Rest, great soul.”
While actor Josh Gadd joined in the tributes, saying: “It is rare that one person can touch multiple generations, creating a breadth of work that defines decade after decade. #AngelaLansbury was that artist. From ‘Mame’ to ‘Bedknobs’ to ‘Murder She Wrote’ to ‘B&TB’ to ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ she touched 4 generations. RIP Legend.”
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GB News star Dan Wootton said: “Another great is gone at 96. Angela Lansbury, God bless you. They don’t make them like that anymore. The definition of a Hollywood legend, but just so nice with it.”
Angela, who was born in London, later moved onto musical theatre, Lansbury finally gained stardom for playing the leafing role in the Broadway musical Mame in 1966, which earned her a range of awards.
Amid difficulties in her personal life, Angela from California to Ireland and continued with her theatrical work including leading roles in Gypsy, Sweeney Todd and The King and I.
Back in America, moving into television, Angela achieved worldwide fame as fictional writer and sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the American whodunit series Murder, She Wrote, which ran for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996, becoming one of the longest-running detective drama series in television history.
She also moved into voice work, contributing to animated films such as Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in 1991.
Angela previously received an Honorary Oscar and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and won five Tony Awards, six Golden Globes, and a Oliver Award.
She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014.
Angela is the mother of two children Anthony Peter and Deidre Ann.
The TV star was married twice, first to the actor Richard Cromwell, when she was 19 and he was 35.
The pair eloped and were married in a small civil ceremony on September 27, 1945 but marriage ended in divorce in 1946.
The couple remained friends until his death in 1960.
In 1949, she married actor Peter Shaw, and they remained together for 54 years until his death in 2003; she asserted that “We had the perfect relationship. Not many people can say that.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
