Trivia

In 1934, she helped to found the actors' trade union Equity.

Mother of actress Susan Wooldridge and the director Hugh Wooldridge.

She was the last surviving signatory of Equity, the document which in 1934 established the British actors' union.

Married to composer John Wooldridge, who was killed in a car crash in 1958.

Auburn-haired leading actress of stage and screen, noted for her rich voice. Daughter of music critic Hugh Arthur Scott, she was educated at the Convent of the Holy Child in Cavendish Square, London. She later trained for acting at RADA and was awarded the Kendal Prize. She acted extensively at the West End, the Old Vic and at the Bristol Old Vic, achieving particular acclaim for her performances in plays by Shakespeare and Wilde. On screen from 1934, she tended to portray women of higher social standing, often of haughty or snobbish disposition.

Graduated from RADA.

Of French, Scottish and Spanish ancestry.

Stage debut, aged 14, as Mercutio's page in "Romeo and Juliet" at the Strand Theatre.

Became an Associate Member of RADA.

She played two of King Henry VIII's wives: his first wife Catherine of Aragon in The White Falcon (1956) and his sixth and final wife Catherine Parr in The Young Elizabeth (1953).