View source for Angela Lansbury

{{Short description|British-American-Irish actress and singer (1925–2022)}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=April 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = [[Dame]]
| name             =  Angela Lansbury
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|DBE|size=100%}}
| image            = Studio publicity Angela Lansbury.jpg
| alt              = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption         = Lansbury in 1950
| birth_name      = Angela Brigid Lansbury
| birth_date      = {{Birth date|1925|10|16}}
| birth_place     = London, England
| death_date      = {{Death date and age|2022|10|11|1925|10|16}}
| death_place     = Los Angeles, California, US<!-- [[MOS:US]]. -->
| citizenship     = {{ubl
  | United Kingdom
  | United States (from 1951)
  | Ireland (after 1970)
  }}
| occupation      = {{hlist|Actress|singer}}
| years_active    = 1942–2022
| works   = [[Angela Lansbury on screen and stage|Full list]]
| spouse          = {{ubl
  | {{marriage|[[Richard Cromwell (actor)|Richard Cromwell]]|September 27, 1945|September 11, 1946|end=divorced}}
  | {{marriage|[[Peter Shaw (producer, born 1918)|Peter Shaw]]|1949|January 29, 2003|end=died}}
  }}
| children        = 2
| mother          = [[Moyna Macgill]]
| father          = [[Edgar Lansbury (politician)|Edgar Lansbury]]
| relatives       = {{ubl
  | [[Bruce Lansbury]] (brother)
  | [[Edgar Lansbury (producer)|Edgar Lansbury]] (brother)
  | [[George Lansbury]] (grandfather)
  }}
| awards        = [[List of awards and nominations received by Angela Lansbury|Full list]]
| signature     = Angela Lansbury signature.svg
}}

'''Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury''' (October{{nbsp}}16, 1925{{snd}}October{{nbsp}}11, 2022) was a British-American-Irish actress and singer. In a career spanning 80 years, she played various roles across film, stage, and television. Although based for much of her life in the United States, her work attracted international attention. 

<!-- Lansbury's life from her birth to ''Mame'' -->
Lansbury was born into an [[upper-middle-class]] family in [[central London]], the daughter of Irish actress [[Moyna Macgill]] and English politician [[Edgar Lansbury (politician)|Edgar Lansbury]]. To escape [[the Blitz]], she moved to the United States in 1940, studying acting in New York City. Proceeding to Hollywood in 1942, she signed with [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] (MGM) and obtained her first film roles in ''[[Gaslight (1944 film)|Gaslight]]'' (1944), ''[[National Velvet (film)|National Velvet]]'' (1944), and ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film)|The Picture of Dorian Gray]]'' (1945). She appeared in 11 further MGM films, mostly in minor roles, and after her contract ended in 1952, she began to supplement her cinematic work with theatrical appearances. Lansbury was largely seen as a [[B-list]] star during this period, but her role in ''[[The Manchurian Candidate (1962 film)|The Manchurian Candidate]]'' (1962) received widespread acclaim and is frequently ranked as one of her best performances. Moving into musical theatre, Lansbury gained stardom for playing the leading role in the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical ''[[Mame (musical)|Mame]]'' (1966), winning her first [[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical|Tony Award]].

<!-- Lansbury's life from the 1970s to 2022 -->
Amid difficulties in her personal life, Lansbury moved from California to Ireland's [[County Cork]] in 1970. She continued to make theatrical and cinematic appearances throughout that decade, including leading roles in the stage musicals ''[[Dear World]]'', ''[[Gypsy (musical)|Gypsy]]'', and ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street|Sweeney Todd]]'', as well as in the [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Disney]] film ''[[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]]'' (1971). Moving into television in 1984, she achieved worldwide fame as the sleuth [[Jessica Fletcher]] in the American [[whodunit]] series ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'', which ran for 12 seasons until 1996, becoming one of the longest-running and most popular detective drama series in television history. In 1989, [[Corymore Productions]], a company that she co-owned with her husband [[Peter Shaw (producer, born 1918)|Peter Shaw]], began co-producing the series with Universal, and Lansbury also became its [[Television producer|executive producer]] during its final four seasons. She also moved into voice work, contributing to animated films like ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' (1991) and ''[[Anastasia (1997 film)|Anastasia]]'' (1997). In the 21st century, she toured in several theatrical productions and appeared in [[family film]]s such as ''[[Nanny McPhee]]'' (2005) and ''[[Mary Poppins Returns]]'' (2018).

<!--Reception and legacy-->
Among [[List of awards and nominations received by Angela Lansbury|Lansbury's accolades]] are six [[Tony Awards]] (including a [[Lifetime Achievement Tony Award|Lifetime Achievement Award]]), six [[Golden Globe Awards]], two honorary [[BAFTA Awards]], a [[Laurence Olivier Award]], an honorary [[SAG Award]], and the [[Academy Honorary Award]]; in addition to nominations for three [[Academy Awards]], 18 [[Primetime Emmy Awards]], and a [[Grammy Award]]. In 2014, she was made a [[dame]] by [[Queen Elizabeth II]].

==Early life and career beginnings==

===Childhood: 1925–1942===
Angela Brigid Lansbury was born to an [[upper-middle-class]] family on October 16, 1925.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=3|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=3}} Although her birthplace has often been given as [[Poplar, London|Poplar, East London]],{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=3}} she rejected this, stating that while she had ancestral connections to Poplar, she was born in [[Regent's Park]], [[Central London]].{{efn|In a 2014 interview for [[BBC Radio 4]], she stated: "I want to make one thing clear: I was not born in Poplar, that's not true, I was born in Regent's Park, so I wasn't born in the East End, I wish I could say I had been. Certainly my antecedents were: my grandfather, my father." (mins 3–4)<ref Name=Frontrow>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03srj0y |title=Interview with Mark Lawson |publisher=[[BBC Radio 4]] |date=February 3, 2014 |access-date=January 25, 2016 |archive-date=September 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160908204624/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03srj0y |url-status=live}}</ref>}} Her mother was [[Belfast]]-born Irish [[Moyna Macgill]] (born Charlotte Lillian McIldowie), an actress who regularly appeared on stage in London's [[West End theatre|West End]] and who also appeared in several films.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=3–4|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=5–10|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=8}} Her father was the wealthy English timber merchant and politician [[Edgar Lansbury (politician)|Edgar Lansbury]], a member of the [[Communist Party of Great Britain]] and former mayor of the [[Metropolitan Borough of Poplar]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=4|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=3}} Her paternal grandfather was the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] leader [[George Lansbury]], a man whom she felt "awed" by and considered "a giant in my youth".{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=4–5|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=15–20|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=9–10}} Angela had an older half-sister, Isolde, from Macgill's previous marriage to [[Reginald Denham]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=5|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=3|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=7}} In January 1930, Macgill gave birth to twin boys, [[Bruce Lansbury|Bruce]] and [[Edgar Lansbury (producer)|Edgar]], leading the Lansburys to move from their Poplar flat to a house in [[Mill Hill]], then [[Middlesex]]; at weekends, they would stay at a farm in [[Berrick Salome]], Oxfordshire.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=4|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2pp=11–15}}

{{Quote box|width=25em|align=left|quote=I'm eternally grateful for the Irish side of me. That's where I got my sense of comedy and whimsy. As for the English half–that's my reserved side ... But put me onstage, and the Irish comes out. The combination makes a good mix for acting.|salign=right|source={{spaced ndash}}Angela Lansbury.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=3|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=4|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=10–11}}}}

When Lansbury was nine, her father died from [[stomach cancer]]; she retreated into playing characters as a [[coping mechanism]].{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=12|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2p=21}} Facing financial difficulty, her mother entered a relationship with a Scottish colonel, Leckie Forbes, and moved into his house in [[Hampstead]]. Lansbury then received an education at [[South Hampstead High School]] from 1934 until 1939,{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1pp=11–12, 21|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2pp=26–28}} where she was a contemporary of [[Glynis Johns]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Sturgis |first=John |date=May 14, 2023 |title=Glynis Johns – Britain's oldest living star of stage and screen is still shining |url=https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/1770097/Glynis-Johns-damehood-mary-poppins |work=[[Daily Express]] |access-date=July 30, 2023}}</ref> She nevertheless considered herself largely self-educated, learning from books, theatre and cinema.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=14|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2p=24}} Lansbury became a self-professed "complete movie maniac", visiting the cinema regularly.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=13–14}} Keen on playing the piano, she briefly studied music at the Ritman School of Dancing, and in 1940 began studying acting at the [[Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art|Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art]] in [[Kensington]], [[List of sub regions used in the London Plan|west London]], first appearing onstage as a lady-in-waiting in the school's production of [[Maxwell Anderson]]'s ''[[Mary of Scotland (film)|Mary of Scotland]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=6|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=22|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=28–31}}

That year, Lansbury's grandfather died, and with the onset of [[the Blitz]], Macgill decided to take Angela, Bruce and Edgar to the United States; Isolde remained in Britain with her new husband, the actor [[Peter Ustinov]]. Macgill secured a job supervising 60 British children who were being evacuated to North America aboard the [[RMS Duchess of Atholl|''Duchess of Atholl'']], arriving with them in [[Montreal]], Canada, in August 1940.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=7|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=24–25|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=31–35}} Macgill then proceeded by train to New York City, where she was financially sponsored by a [[Wall Street]] businessman, Charles T. Smith, moving in with his family at their home at [[Mahopac, New York]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=9|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=25–26|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=35–36}} Lansbury gained a scholarship from the [[American Theatre Wing]] to study at the [[Feagin School of Dramatic Art|Feagin School of Drama and Radio]], where she appeared in performances of [[William Congreve]]'s ''[[The Way of the World]]'' and [[Oscar Wilde]]'s ''[[Lady Windermere's Fan]]''. She graduated in March 1942, by which time the family had moved to an apartment on Morton Street, [[Greenwich Village]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=8–9|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=26|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=36–41}}

===Career breakthrough: 1942–1945===
Macgill secured work in a Canadian touring production of ''[[Tonight at 8:30]]'', and was joined by her daughter. There, the 16-year-old Lansbury gained her first theatrical job as a nightclub act at the Samovar Club, Montreal, claiming to be 19 and singing songs by [[Noël Coward]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=9|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=29|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=44}} Lansbury returned to New York City in August 1942, but her mother had moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles, to resurrect her cinematic career; Lansbury and her brothers followed.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1pp=29–30|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2p=44}} Moving into a bungalow in [[Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles|Laurel Canyon]], both Lansbury and her mother obtained Christmas jobs at the [[Bullocks Wilshire]] department store in Los Angeles; Macgill was sacked for incompetence, leaving the family to subsist on Lansbury's wages of $28 a week.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=9|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=32–33|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=46–47}} Befriending a group of gay men, Lansbury became privy to the city's underground gay scene.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=50}} With her mother, she attended lectures by the spiritual guru [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]] – at one of these, meeting the writer [[Aldous Huxley]].{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=50}}

[[File:Angela Lansbury in The Picture of Dorian Gray trailer.jpg|thumb|alt=A young white woman facing forward, with the name "Angela Lansbury" superimposed in front of her|Lansbury in the trailer for ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film)|The Picture of Dorian Gray]]'']]

At a party hosted by her mother, Lansbury met [[John van Druten]], who had recently co-authored a script for ''[[Gaslight (1944 film)|Gaslight]]'' (1944), a mystery-thriller based on [[Patrick Hamilton (writer)|Patrick Hamilton]]'s 1938 play, ''[[Gas Light]]''. The film was being directed by [[George Cukor]] and starred [[Ingrid Bergman]] in the lead role of Paula Alquist, a woman in [[Victorian era|Victorian]] London being psychologically tormented by her husband. Druten suggested that Lansbury would be perfect for the role of Nancy Oliver, a [[cockney]] maid; she was accepted for the part, although, since she was only 17, a social worker had to accompany her on the set.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=11–13|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=36–41|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=53–56, 59–62}} Obtaining an agent, Earl Kramer, she was signed to a seven-year contract with [[MGM]], earning $500 a week.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=12|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=37–38|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=56–58}} ''Gaslight'' received critical acclaim, and Lansbury's performance was widely praised, earning her a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=13|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=42|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=62}}

Her next film appearance was as Edwina Brown in ''[[National Velvet (film)|National Velvet]]'' (1944); the film became a major commercial success and Lansbury developed a lifelong friendship with co-star [[Elizabeth Taylor]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=13|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=43|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=63}} Lansbury next starred in ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film)|The Picture of Dorian Gray]]'' (1945), a cinematic adaptation of Wilde's 1890 [[The Picture of Dorian Gray|novel of the same name]], which was again set in Victorian London. Directed by [[Albert Lewin]], Lansbury was cast as Sybil Vane, a working-class [[music hall]] singer who falls in love with the protagonist, [[Dorian Gray]] ([[Hurd Hatfield]]). Although the film was not a financial success, Lansbury's performance once more drew praise, earning her a [[Golden Globe Award]], and she was again nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards, losing to [[Anne Revere]], her co-star in ''National Velvet''.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=14–15|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=45–47|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=52–62, 66–69}}

===Later MGM films: 1945–1951===
On September 27, 1945, Lansbury married [[Richard Cromwell (actor)|Richard Cromwell]], an artist and decorator whose acting career had come to a standstill. Their marriage was troubled; Cromwell was gay, and had married Lansbury in the unsuccessful hope that it would [[Sexual orientation change efforts|turn him heterosexual]]. Lansbury filed for divorce within a year, being granted a decree on September 11, 1946, but the couple remained friends until his death.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=15|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=48–55|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=77–79, 81–83}} In December 1946, she was introduced to fellow English expatriate [[Peter Shaw (producer, born 1918)|Peter Pullen Shaw]] at a party held by former co-star Hurd Hatfield in [[Ojai Valley]]. Shaw was an aspiring actor, also signed to MGM, and had recently left a relationship with [[Joan Crawford]]. He and Lansbury became a couple, living together before she proposed marriage.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=23–24|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=81–85|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=87–91}} They wanted a wedding in Britain, but the [[Church of England]] refused to marry two divorcees. Instead, they wed at [[St Columba's Church, London|St. Columba's Church]], a place of worship under the jurisdiction of the [[Church of Scotland]], in [[Knightsbridge]], London, in August 1949, followed by a honeymoon in France.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=24–26|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=85–87|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=96–97}} Returning to the US, they settled into Lansbury's home in Rustic Canyon, [[Malibu, California|Malibu]].{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=76|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2p=85}} In 1951, the couple both became [[Citizenship in the United States|naturalized US citizens]], albeit retaining their British citizenship via [[dual nationality]].{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=90|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2p=101}}

[[File:Angela Lansbury in Till the Clouds Roll By.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A young white woman, her arms exposed, wearing a large red feathered headdress. A fairground ride can be seen in the background.|Lansbury in a scene from MGM's ''[[Till the Clouds Roll By]]'' (1946), one of her earliest film appearances]]

Following the success of ''Gaslight'' and ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'', MGM cast Lansbury in 11 further films until her contract with the company ended in 1952. Keeping her among their [[B-list]] stars, MGM used her less than their similar-aged actresses; Lansbury biographers Rob Edelman and Audrey E. Kupferberg believed that the majority of these films were "mediocre", doing little to further her career.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=57–62, 64}} This view was echoed by Cukor, who believed Lansbury had been "consistently miscast" by MGM.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=57}} She was repeatedly made to portray older women, often villainous, and as a result she became increasingly dissatisfied with working for MGM, commenting that "I kept wanting to play the [[Jean Arthur]] roles, and [[Louis B. Mayer|Mr Mayer]] kept casting me as a series of venal bitches."{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=65–66}} The company was suffering from the post-1948 slump in cinema sales, as a result slashing film budgets and cutting their number of staff.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=65–66}}

In 1946, Lansbury played her first American character as Em, a honky-tonk saloon singer in the Oscar-winning [[Wild West]] musical ''[[The Harvey Girls]]'';{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=18–19|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=59|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=71–75}} her singing was dubbed by Virginia Reese.{{sfn|Hischak|2008|p=328}} She appeared in ''[[The Hoodlum Saint]]'' (1946), ''[[Till the Clouds Roll By]]'' (1947), ''[[If Winter Comes]]'' (1947), ''[[Tenth Avenue Angel]]'' (1948), ''[[The Three Musketeers (1948 film)|The Three Musketeers]]'' (1948), ''[[State of the Union (film)|State of the Union]]'' (1948) and ''[[The Red Danube]]'' (1949). Lansbury was loaned by MGM first to [[United Artists]] for ''[[The Private Affairs of Bel Ami]]'' (1947), and then to [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] for ''[[Samson and Delilah (1949 film)|Samson and Delilah]]'' (1949).{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=19–21, 27–33|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=69–71, 75|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=79–80, 84, 87, 91–94, 97–99}} She appeared as a villainous maidservant in ''[[Kind Lady (1951 film)|Kind Lady]]'' (1951) and a French adventuress in ''[[Mutiny (1952 film)|Mutiny]]'' (1952).{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=34–35, 37, 41|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=92–93}} Turning to radio, in 1948, Lansbury appeared in an audio adaptation of [[Somerset Maugham]]'s ''[[Of Human Bondage]]'' for ''[[NBC University Theatre]]'' and the following year, she starred in their adaptation of [[Jane Austen]]'s ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]''.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=98}} Moving into television, she appeared in a 1950 episode of ''[[Robert Montgomery Presents]]'' adapted from [[A.J. Cronin]]'s ''[[The Citadel (novel)|The Citadel]]''.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=98–99}}

==Mid-career==

===''The Manchurian Candidate'' and minor roles: 1952–1965===
[[File:Angela Lansbury NYWTS.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A young white woman with a girl on the left side and a boy on the right, posing together for a photograph|Lansbury with her children, Deidre and Anthony, in 1957]]

Unhappy with the roles she was being given by MGM, Lansbury instructed her manager, Harry Friedman of [[MCA Inc.]], to terminate her contract in 1952.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=100}} That same year, she gave birth to her first child, Anthony.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=37|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=90|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=101–102}} Soon after the birth, she joined the East Coast touring productions of two former-Broadway plays: [[Howard Lindsay]] and [[Russel Crouse]]'s ''[[Remains to Be Seen (play)|Remains to be Seen]]'' and [[Louis Verneuil]]'s ''[[Affairs of State]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=41|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=90|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=101–102}} Biographer [[Margaret Bonanno]] later stated that at this point, Lansbury's career had "hit an all-time low".{{sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=41}} In April 1953, her daughter Deirdre Angela Shaw was born.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=37|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=90|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=102}} Shaw had a son by a previous marriage, David, whom he brought to California to live with the family after he gained legal custody of the boy in 1953. Now with three children to care for, Lansbury moved to a larger house in [[San Vicente Boulevard (Santa Monica)|San Vicente Boulevard]] in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]].{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=89|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2p=104}} Lansbury did not feel entirely comfortable in the Hollywood social scene, later commenting that as a result of her British roots, "in Hollywood, I always felt like a stranger in a strange land."{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=122}} In 1959, the family moved to Malibu, settling into a house that had been designed by [[Aaron Green (architect)|Aaron Green]] on the [[Pacific Coast Highway (California)|Pacific Coast Highway]]; there, she and Peter escaped the Hollywood scene, and sent their children to [[state school|public school]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=38|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2pp=115–116}}

Returning to cinema as a freelance actress, Lansbury found herself typecast as an older, maternal figure, appearing in this capacity in most of her films from this period.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=106}} She later stated that "Hollywood made me old before my time", noting that in her twenties she was receiving [[fan mail]] from people who thought her in her forties.{{sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=50}} She obtained minor roles in such films as ''[[A Life at Stake]]'' (1954), ''[[A Lawless Street]]'' (1955) and ''[[The Purple Mask]]'' (1955), later describing the latter as "the worst movie I ever made."{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=42|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=93–95|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=103}} She played Princess Gwendolyn in the comedy film ''[[The Court Jester]]'' (1956), before taking on the role of a wife who kills her husband in ''[[Please Murder Me]]'' (1956). From there she appeared as Minnie Littlejohn in ''[[The Long Hot Summer]]'' (1958), and as Mabel Claremont in ''[[The Reluctant Debutante (film)|The Reluctant Debutante]]'' (1958), for which she filmed in Paris.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=42–44, 49–51|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=95–97|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=103–105, 111–112}} Biographer [[Martin Gottfried]] has claimed that it was these latter two cinematic appearances which restored Lansbury's status as an "[[A-list|A-picture]] actress."{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=111}} Throughout this period, she continued making television appearances, starring in episodes of ''[[The Revlon Mirror Theater]]'', ''[[Ford Theatre]]'' and ''[[The George Gobel Show]]'', and became a regular on game show ''[[Pantomime Quiz]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=36|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=98–99|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=103}}

[[File:Angela Lansbury 1966.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=A young white woman, with bare arms, looking directly at the viewer.|Lansbury in a publicity shot from 1966]]

In April 1957, she debuted on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at the [[Henry Miller Theatre]] in ''[[Hotel Paradiso]],'' a French [[burlesque]] directed by [[Peter Glenville]]. The play only ran for 15 weeks, although she earned good reviews for her role as Marcel Cat. She later stated that had she not appeared in the play, her "whole career would have fizzled out."{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=39, 45–48|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=100|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=105–110}} Into the 1960s, she followed this with an appearance in a Broadway performance of ''[[A Taste of Honey]]'' at the [[Lyceum Theatre (Broadway)|Lyceum Theatre]], directed by [[Tony Richardson]] and [[George Devine]]. Lansbury played Helen, the boorish, verbally abusive mother of Josephine (played by [[Joan Plowright]], only four years Lansbury's junior), remarking that she gained "a great deal of satisfaction" from the role.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=54–55|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=102–104|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=117–122}} During the show's run, Lansbury developed a friendship with both Plowright and Plowright's lover [[Laurence Olivier]]; it was from Lansbury's rented flat on East 97th Street that Plowright and Olivier eloped to be married.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|pp=120–121}}

After a well-reviewed appearance in ''[[Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1959 film)|Summer of the Seventeenth Doll]]'' (1959) – for which she had filmed in Australia – and a minor role in ''[[A Breath of Scandal]]'' (1960), Lansbury appeared in 1961's ''[[Blue Hawaii]]'' as the mother of a character played by [[Elvis Presley]],{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=51, 53, 56–57|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=107–108|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=114–115, 124–125}} just ten years her junior. Although believing that the film was of poor quality, she commented that she agreed to appear in it because she "was desperate".{{sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=57}} Her role as Mavis in ''[[The Dark at the Top of the Stairs]]'' (1960) drew critical acclaim, as did her appearance in ''[[All Fall Down (1962 film)|All Fall Down]]'' (1962) as a manipulative, destructive mother.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=52–53, 58–59|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=112–116|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=112–114, 125–127}} In 1962, she appeared in the [[Cold War]] thriller ''[[The Manchurian Candidate (1962 film)|The Manchurian Candidate]]'' as Eleanor Iselin, cast for the role by [[John Frankenheimer]]. Although Lansbury played actor [[Laurence Harvey]]'s mother in the film, she was in fact only three years older than him.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=59–62|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=117–121|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=127–130}} She had agreed to appear in the film after reading [[The Manchurian Candidate|the original novel]], describing it as "one of the most exciting political books I ever read".{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=127}} Biographers Edelman and Kupferberg considered this role "her enduring cinematic triumph,"{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=116}} while Gottfried stated that it was "the strongest, the most memorable and the best picture she ever made... she gives her finest film performance in it."{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=130}} Lansbury received her third Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for the film.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=120|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2p=130}}

She followed this with a performance as Sybil Logan in ''[[In the Cool of the Day]]'' (1963) – a film she denounced as awful – before appearing as wealthy Isabel Boyd in ''[[The World of Henry Orient]]'' (1964) and the widow Phyllis in ''[[Dear Heart]]'' (1964).{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=63–64, 65–66|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=109–111}} Her first appearance in a theatrical musical was the short-lived ''[[Anyone Can Whistle]]'', written by [[Arthur Laurents]] and [[Stephen Sondheim]]. An experimental work, it opened at the [[Majestic Theatre (Broadway)|Majestic Theatre]] on Broadway in April 1964, but was critically panned and closed after nine performances. Lansbury had played the role of crooked mayoress Cora Hoover Hooper, and although she loved Sondheim's score she experienced personal differences with Laurents and was glad when the show closed.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=67–73|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=122–127|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=134–145}} She appeared in ''[[The Greatest Story Ever Told]]'' (1965), a cinematic biopic of Jesus, but was cut almost entirely from the final edit.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=64–65|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=111–112|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=149}} She followed this with appearances as Mama Jean Bello in ''[[Harlow (Paramount film)|Harlow]]'' (1965), as Lady Blystone in ''[[The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders]]'' (1965), and as Gloria in ''[[Mister Buddwing]]'' (1966).{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=74–76|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=111–112}} Although many of her cinematic roles had been well received, "celluloid superstardom" evaded Lansbury, and she became increasingly dissatisfied with these minor roles, feeling that none allowed her to explore her potential as an actress.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=97–98, 105}}

===''Mame'' and theatrical stardom: 1966–1969===

{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote=I was a wife and a mother, and I was completely fulfilled. But my husband recognised the signals in me which said 'I've been doing enough gardening, I've cooked enough good dinners, I've sat around the house and mooned about what more interior decoration I can get my fingers into.' It's a curious thing with actors and actresses, but suddenly the alarm goes off. My husband is a very sensitive person to my moods and he recognised the fact that I had to get on with something. ''Mame'' came along out of the blue just at this time. Now isn't that a miracle?.|salign=right|source={{spaced ndash}} Angela Lansbury.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=78}}}}

In 1966, Lansbury took on the title role of Mame Dennis in the musical ''[[Mame (musical)|Mame]]'', [[Jerry Herman]]'s musical adaptation of the 1955 novel ''[[Auntie Mame]]'' (written by [[Patrick Dennis]]). The director's first choice for the role had been [[Rosalind Russell]], who played Mame in [[Auntie Mame (film)|the 1958 non-musical film adaptation]], but she had declined. Lansbury actively sought the role in the hope that it would mark a change in her career. When she was chosen, it came as a surprise to theatre critics, who believed that the part would go to a better-known actress; Lansbury was 41 years old, and it was her first starring role.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=77–79|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=128–132|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=149–159}} Mame Dennis was a glamorous character, with more than 20 costume changes throughout the play, and Lansbury's role involved 10 songs and dance routines for which she trained extensively.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1pp=133–134|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2pp=161–163}} First appearing in [[Philadelphia]] and then [[Boston]], ''Mame'' opened at the [[Winter Garden Theatre]] on Broadway in May 1966.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=134|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2pp=170–172}} ''Auntie Mame'' was already popular among the gay community,{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=151}} and ''Mame'' gained Lansbury a cult gay following, something that she later attributed to the fact that Mame Dennis was "every gay person's idea of glamour... Everything about Mame coincided with every young man's idea of beauty and glory and it was lovely."<ref name="gayicon">{{cite news |first=Lydia |last=Richardson |url=http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/139022/Im-Proud-To-Be-A-Gay-Icon-Angela-Lansbury-Opens-Up-In-New-Interview |title='I'm Proud To Be A Gay Icon!': Angela Lansbury Opens Up in New Interview |website=Entertainment Wise |date=January 25, 2014 |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704125109/http://archive.entertainmentwise.com/news/139022/Im-Proud-To-Be-A-Gay-Icon-Angela-Lansbury-Opens-Up-In-New-Interview |archivedate=July 4, 2015}}</ref>

Reviews of Lansbury's performance were overwhelmingly positive.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=135}} In ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Stanley Kauffmann]] wrote: "Miss Lansbury is a singing-dancing actress, not a singer or dancer who also acts... In this marathon role she has wit, poise, warmth and a very taking [[wikt:coolth|coolth]]."<ref>[[Stanley Kauffmann|Kauffmann, Stanley]] (May 25, 1966). "Theatre: ''Mame'' Is Back with a Splash as Musical". ''[[The New York Times]]''. p. 41.</ref> The role resulted in Lansbury receiving her first [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical|Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=86|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=136}}{{Sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=87}} Lansbury's later biographer Margaret Bonanno claimed that ''Mame'' made Lansbury a "superstar",{{sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=79}} with the actress herself commenting on her success: "Everyone loves you, everyone loves the success, and enjoys it as much as you do. And it lasts as long as you are on that stage and as long as you keep coming out of that stage door."{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=137}}

Off the stage, Lansbury made further television appearances, such as on [[Perry Como]]'s [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] Special in November 1966.{{sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=88}} She also engaged in high-profile charitable endeavours, for instance appearing as the guest of honour at the 1967 [[March of Dimes]] annual benefit luncheon.{{sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=88}} She was invited to star in a musical performance for the 1968 Academy Awards ceremony, and co-hosted that year's Tony Awards with former brother-in-law Peter Ustinov.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=138–139}} That year, [[Harvard University]]'s [[Hasty Pudding Club]] elected her "Woman of the Year".{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=139}} When the film adaptation of ''Mame'' was put into production, Lansbury hoped to be offered the part, but it instead went to [[Lucille Ball]], an established box-office success.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=88, 110|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=140–141}} Lansbury considered this to be "one of my bitterest disappointments".{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=144}} Her personal life was further complicated when she learned that both of her children had become involved with the [[counterculture of the 1960s]] and had been using [[recreational drug]]s. As a result, Anthony had become [[Cocaine dependence|addicted to cocaine]] and [[Heroin dependence|heroin]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=83–84|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=165–166}}

Lansbury followed the success of ''Mame'' with a performance as Countess Aurelia, the 75-year-old Parisian eccentric in ''[[Dear World]]'', a musical adaptation of [[Jean Giraudoux]]'s ''[[The Madwoman of Chaillot]]''. The show opened at Broadway's [[Mark Hellinger Theatre]] in February 1969, but Lansbury found it a "pretty depressing" experience. Reviews of her performance were positive, and she was awarded her second Tony Award on the basis of it. Reviews of the show more generally were critical, however, and it ended after 132 performances.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=91–95|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=148–151|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=191–195}} She followed this with an appearance in the title role of the musical ''[[Prettybelle]]'', based upon Jean Arnold's ''Prettybelle: A Lively Tale of Rape and Resurrection''. Set in the [[Deep South]], it dealt with issues of racism, with Lansbury playing a wealthy alcoholic who seeks sexual encounters with black men. The play opened in Boston, but received poor reviews and was cancelled before it reached Broadway.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=104–106|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=151–152|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=202–204|4a1=Gilvey|4y=2005|4pp=208–11, 214–17}} Lansbury later described the play as "a complete and utter fiasco", admitting that in her opinion, her "performance was awful".{{sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=106}}

===Ireland and ''Gypsy'': 1970–1978===
In the early 1970s, Lansbury declined several cinematic roles, including the lead in ''[[The Killing of Sister George]]'' and the role of [[Nurse Ratched]] in ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'', because she was not satisfied with them.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=153}} Instead, she accepted the role of the Countess von Ornstein, an ageing German aristocrat who falls in love with a younger man, in ''[[Something for Everyone]]'' (1970), for which she filmed on location in [[Hohenschwangau]], Bavaria.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=96–98|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=155–157|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=195–197}} That same year, she appeared as the middle-aged English witch Eglantine Price in the Disney film ''[[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]]''; this was her first lead in a screen musical, and led to her publicizing the film on television programmes like the ''[[David Frost Show]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=98–100|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=157–159|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=197}} She later noted that as a big commercial success, this film "secured an enormous audience for me".{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=197}}

The year 1970 was a traumatic one for the Lansbury family, as Peter underwent a hip replacement, Anthony suffered a heroin overdose and entered a coma, and the family's Malibu home was destroyed in a brush fire.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=101–102|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=169|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=197–202}} They then purchased Knockmourne Glebe, a farmhouse built in the 1820s which was located near [[Conna]] in rural [[County Cork]], and, after Anthony quit using cocaine and heroin, took him there to recover from his drug addiction.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=103|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=167|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=205–208}} He subsequently enrolled in the Webber-Douglas School, his mother's alma mater, and became a professional actor, before moving into television directing.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=106|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=170|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=308, 309}} Lansbury and her husband did not return to California, instead dividing their time between Cork and New York City, where they lived in a flat opposite the [[Lincoln Center]].{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=170}}

{{Quote box|width=25em|align=rightt|quote=[In Ireland, our gardener] had no idea who I was. Nobody there did. I was just Mrs. Shaw, which suited me down to the ground. I had absolute anonymity in those days, which was wonderful.|salign=right|source={{spaced ndash}} Angela Lansbury.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=215}}}}

In 1972, Lansbury returned to London's West End to perform in the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]]'s theatrical production of [[Edward Albee]]'s ''[[All Over]]'' at the [[Aldwych Theatre]]. She portrayed the mistress of a dying [[New England]] millionaire, and although the play's reviews were mixed, Lansbury's acting was widely praised.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=109|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=170, 181–182|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=209–212}} This was followed by her reluctant involvement in a revival of ''Mame'', which was then touring the United States,{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=109–111|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=182|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=190–191, 217}} after which she returned to the West End to play the character of [[Rose Thompson Hovick|Rose]] in the musical ''[[Gypsy (musical)|Gypsy]]''. She had initially turned down the role, not wishing to be in the shadow of [[Ethel Merman]], who had portrayed the character in the original Broadway production. When the show started in May 1973, Lansbury earned a standing ovation and rave reviews.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=112–116|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=183–187|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=219–223}} Settling into a [[Belgravia]] flat, she was soon in demand among London society, having dinners held in her honour.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=183–187}} Following the culmination of the London run, in 1974 ''Gypsy'' toured the US; in Chicago, Lansbury was awarded the [[Sarah Siddons Award]] for her performance. The show eventually reached Broadway, where it ran until January 1975. A critical success, it earned Lansbury her third Tony Award.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=117–119, 121|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=187–190|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=219–223}} After several months' break, ''Gypsy'' toured the US again in the summer of 1975.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=190–192}}

Wanting to move on from musicals, Lansbury obtained the role of [[Gertrude (Hamlet)|Gertrude]] in the [[National Theatre Company]]'s production of [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Hamlet]]'', staged at the [[Old Vic]]. Directed by [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]], the production ran from December 1975 to May 1976 and received mixed reviews. Lansbury disliked the role, later commenting that she found it "very trying playing restrained roles" such as Gertrude.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=122–123|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=191–193|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=224–227}} Her mood was worsened by her mother's death in November 1975.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=121|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=170, 192|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=227}} Her next theatrical appearance was in two one-act plays by Albee, ''Counting the Ways'' and ''Listening'', performed side by side at the Hartford Stage Company in Connecticut. Reviews of the production were mixed, although Lansbury was again singled out for praise.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=124–125|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=193–194|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=231}} This was followed by another revival tour of ''Gypsy''.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=194}}

In April 1978, Lansbury appeared in 24 performances of a revival of the musical ''[[The King and I]]'' staged at Broadway's [[Uris Theatre]]; Lansbury played the role of [[Anna Leonowens|Mrs Anna]], replacing [[Constance Towers]], who was on a short break.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=127–131|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=194–195|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=231}} Her first cinematic role in seven years was as novelist Salome Otterbourne in a [[Death on the Nile (1978 film)|1978 adaptation]] of [[Agatha Christie]]'s ''[[Death on the Nile]]'', filmed in both London and Egypt. In the film, Lansbury starred alongside Ustinov and [[Bette Davis]], who became a close friend. The role earned Lansbury the [[National Board of Review]] award for Best Supporting Actress of 1978.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=125–126|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=204–205|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=230}}

===''Sweeney Todd'' and continued cinematic work: 1979–1984===
In March 1979, Lansbury appeared as [[Mrs. Lovett|Nellie Lovett]] in ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]'', a Sondheim musical directed by [[Harold Prince]]. Opening at the Uris Theatre, she starred alongside [[Len Cariou]] as [[Sweeney Todd]], the murderous barber in 19th-century London. After being offered the role, she jumped on the opportunity due to Sondheim's involvement,{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=132–136|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=196–199|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=228–245}} commenting that she loved "the extraordinary wit and intelligence of his lyrics."{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=199}} She remained in the role for 14 months before being replaced by [[Dorothy Loudon]]; the musical received mixed critical reviews, although earned Lansbury her fourth Tony Award and ''[[After Dark (magazine)|After Dark]]'' magazine's Ruby Award for Broadway Performer of the Year.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=136, 138|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=201–202}} She returned to the role in October 1980 for a ten-month US tour; the production was also filmed and broadcast on the Entertainment Channel.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=145|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=203}}

In 1982, Lansbury took on the role of an upper middle-class housewife who champions workers' rights in ''A Little Family Business'', a farce set in [[Baltimore]] in which her son Anthony also starred. It debuted at Los Angeles' [[Ahmanson Theatre]] before moving to Broadway's [[Martin Beck Theatre]]. It was critically panned and faced protests from California's [[Japanese-Americans|Japanese-American]] community for including anti-Japanese slurs.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=149–154|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=210–211|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=250–251}} That year, Lansbury was inducted into the [[American Theatre Hall of Fame]],{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=2}} and the following year appeared in a ''Mame'' revival at Broadway's [[Gershwin Theatre]]. Although Lansbury was praised, the revival was a commercial failure, with Lansbury noting: "I realised that it's not a show of today. It's a [[period piece]]."{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=158–160|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=211–212|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=251–253}}

{{Quote box|width=25em|align=left|quote=A small number of people have seen me on the stage. [Television] is a chance for me to play to a vast US public, and I think that's a chance you don't pass up... I'm interested in reaching everybody. I don't want to reach just the people who can pay forty-five or fifty dollars for a [theatre] seat.|salign=right |source={{spaced ndash}} Angela Lansbury.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=216}}}}

Working in cinema, in 1979 Lansbury appeared as Miss Froy in ''[[The Lady Vanishes (1979 film)|The Lady Vanishes]]'', a remake of [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s [[The Lady Vanishes (1938 film)|1938 film]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=125–127|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=205|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=230}} The following year she appeared in ''[[The Mirror Crack'd]]'', another film based on [[The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side|an Agatha Christie novel]], this time as [[Miss Marple]], a sleuth in 1950s [[Kent]]. Lansbury hoped to get away from the depiction of the role made famous by [[Margaret Rutherford]], instead returning to Christie's description of the character. She was signed to appear in two sequels as Miss Marple, but these were never made.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=140–144|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=207–210|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=247, 248}} Lansbury's next film was the animated ''[[The Last Unicorn (film)|The Last Unicorn]]'' (1982), for which she provided the voice of the witch Mommy Fortuna.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=147|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=205}}

Returning to musical cinema, she starred as Ruth in ''[[The Pirates of Penzance (1983 film)|The Pirates of Penzance]]'' (1983), a film based on [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s [[The Pirates of Penzance|comic opera of the same name]], and while filming it in London sang on a recording of ''[[The Beggar's Opera]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=145–147|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=206}} This was followed by an appearance as the grandmother in Gothic fantasy film ''[[The Company of Wolves]]'' (1984).{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=172|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=206–207}} Lansbury had also begun work for television, appearing in a 1982 television film with Bette Davis titled ''[[Little Gloria... Happy at Last]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=153, 155–156|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=214}} She followed this with an appearance in [[CBS]]'s ''The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story'' (1983), later describing it as "the most unsophisticated thing you can imagine."{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=156–157|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=214}} A [[BBC]] television film followed, ''A Talent for Murder'' (1984), in which she played a wheelchair-user mystery writer; although describing it as "a rush job", she agreed to do it in order to work with co-star Laurence Olivier.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=157|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=214–215}} Two further miniseries featuring Lansbury appeared in 1984: ''[[Lace (TV series)|Lace]]'' and ''[[The First Olympics: Athens 1896]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=156|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=215}}

==Global fame==

===''Murder, She Wrote'': 1984–2003===
[[File:Bea Arthur & Angela Lansbury (211193459).jpg|thumb|alt=Two middle-aged white women standing next to each other|Lansbury with ''[[Mame (musical)|Mame]]'' original Broadway cast member [[Bea Arthur]] at the [[41st Primetime Emmy Awards]] in 1989]]

In 1983, Lansbury was offered two main television roles, one in a sitcom and the other in a [[detective fiction|detective drama]] series, ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]''. As she was unable to do both, her agents advised her to accept the former, but Lansbury chose the latter.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=161|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=217|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=258}} Her decision was based on the appeal of the series' central character, [[Jessica Fletcher]], a retired school teacher from the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine. As portrayed by Lansbury, Fletcher was a successful detective novelist who also solved murders encountered during her travels.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=162|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=217|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=261}} Lansbury described the character as "an American Miss Marple".{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=217}}

''Murder, She Wrote'' had been created by [[Peter S. Fischer]], [[Richard Levinson]], and [[William Link]], who had earlier had success with ''[[Columbo]]'', and the role of Fletcher had been first offered to [[Jean Stapleton]], who had declined it.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=161—163|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=217–218|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=254—259}} The pilot episode, "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes", premiered on CBS on September 30, 1984, with the rest of the first season airing on Sundays from 8 to 9&nbsp;pm. Although critical reviews were mixed, it proved highly popular, with the pilot having a [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]] of 18.9 and the first season being rated top in its time slot.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=219–222}} Designed as inoffensive family viewing, as despite its topic the show eschewed depicting violence or gore, it followed the "[[whodunit]]" format rather than those of most US crime shows of the time.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=226–227}} Lansbury herself commented that "best of all, there's no violence. I hate violence."{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=226}}

Lansbury exerted creative input over Fletcher's costumes, makeup and hair, and rejected pressure from network executives to put the character in a relationship, believing that the character should remain a strong single woman.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=165–166, 167|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=230–234}} When she believed that a scriptwriter had made Fletcher do or say things that did not fit with the character's personality, Lansbury ensured that the script was changed.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=230–234}} She saw Fletcher as a role model for older female viewers, praising her "enormous, universal appeal – that was an accomplishment I never expected in my entire life."{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=234}} Edelman and Kupferberg described the series as "a television landmark" in the US for having an older female character as the protagonist, paving the way for later series like ''[[The Golden Girls]]''.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=218}} Lansbury commented that "I think it's the first time a show has really been aimed at the middle aged audience",{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=221}} and although it was most popular among [[senior citizens]], it gradually gained a younger audience; by 1991, a third of viewers were under fifty.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=225–227}} It gained continually high ratings throughout most of its run, outdoing rivals in its time slot such as [[Steven Spielberg]]'s ''[[Amazing Stories (1985 TV series)|Amazing Stories]]'' on [[NBC]].{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=224–225}} In 1987, a spin-off was produced, ''[[The Law & Harry McGraw]]'', although it proved short-lived.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=223}}

As ''Murder, She Wrote'' went on, Lansbury assumed a larger role behind the scenes.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=241}} In 1989, her own company, [[Corymore Productions]], began co-producing the show with Universal.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=244|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2pp=288–289}} Lansbury began to tire of the series, and in particular the long working hours, stating that the 1990–1991 season would be its last.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=241–242, 244–245}} She changed her mind after being appointed executive producer for the 1992–1993 season, something that she felt "made it far more interesting to me."{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=248}} For the seventh season, the show's primary setting moved to New York City, where Fletcher had taken a job teaching criminology at Manhattan University; the move, encouraged by Lansbury, was an attempt to attract younger viewers.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=245|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2pp=285–286, 290}} Having become a "Sunday-night institution" in the US, the show's ratings improved during the early 1990s, becoming a Top Five programme.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=247}}

[[File:Angela Lansbury 2000.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=An older white woman looking towards the viewer.|Lansbury photographed in 2000 at the [[Kennedy Center]] in Washington DC]]

For the show's 12th season, CBS executives moved ''Murder, She Wrote'' to Thursdays at 8&nbsp;pm, opposite NBC's new sitcom, ''[[Friends]]''. Lansbury was upset by the move, believing that it ignored the show's core audience.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=248|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2pp=297–298}} This would prove to be the series' final season. The final episode aired on May 19, 1996, and ended with Lansbury voicing a "Goodbye from Jessica" message.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|pp=299–300}} In ''[[The Washington Post]]'', [[Tom Shales]] suggested that the series had become "partly a victim of commercial television's mad youth mania".<ref>{{cite news |first=Tom |last=Shales |title=''Murder'', They Wrote Off; A 'Grave Error' by CBS Killed Her Show, Leaving Angela Lansbury to Play A Bittersweet Finale |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 19, 1996 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1996/05/19/murder-they-wrote-off/28664ffc-f29e-414c-b0fa-9bbfb15e693d/ |accessdate=January 26, 2023 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126113534/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1996/05/19/murder-they-wrote-off/28664ffc-f29e-414c-b0fa-9bbfb15e693d/ |archivedate=January 26, 2023}}</ref> There were "vocal protests" at its cancellation from the show's fanbase.{{sfn|Clark|2004|p=1318}} At the time, it tied the original ''[[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]]'' as the longest-running detective drama series in history.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=247}}

Lansbury initially had plans for a ''Murder, She Wrote'' television film that would be a musical with a score composed by Jerry Herman;{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=303}} that project did not materialize but resulted in the 1996 television film ''[[Mrs. Santa Claus]]'', with Lansbury playing [[Mrs. Claus|the eponymous character]], which proved to be a ratings success.{{sfnm|1a1=Gottfried|1y=1999|1pp=303–306|2a1=Hischak|2y=2008|2pp=510–511}} ''Murder, She Wrote'' continued through several made-for-television films: ''South By Southwest'' in 1997, ''A Story To Die For'' in 2000, ''The Last Free Man'' in 2001, and ''The Celtic Riddle'' in 2003.{{sfn|Clark|2004|p=1318}}<ref>{{cite web |title=''Murder, She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle'' Ended The Classic Series |last=Armitage |first=Helen |date=November 13, 2020 |website=[[Screen Rant]] |url=https://screenrant.com/murder-she-wrote-show-celtic-riddle-ending/ |accessdate=December 15, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215145356/https://screenrant.com/murder-she-wrote-show-celtic-riddle-ending/ |archivedate=December 15, 2022}}</ref> The role of Fletcher would prove the most successful and prominent of Lansbury's career,{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=235}} and she would later speak critically of attempts to reboot the series with a different actress in the lead.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dame Angela Lansbury 'Relieved' as ''Murder, She Wrote'' Remake is Scrapped |date=January 22, 2014 |website=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25840830 |accessdate=December 15, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126114505/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-25840830 |archivedate=January 26, 2023}}</ref>

Throughout the run of ''Murder, She Wrote'', Lansbury had continued appearing in other television films, miniseries and cinema.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=251}} In 1986, she co-hosted the [[New York Philharmonic]]'s televised [[Liberty Weekend]] tribute to the centenary of the [[Statue of Liberty]] with [[Kirk Douglas]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-07-05/features/8602090161_1_liberty-weekend-liberty-festivities-great-lawn |title=Liberty Receives Classical Salute |website=[[Sun-Sentinel|Sun Sentinel]] |first=Bill |last=Kelley |date=July 5, 1986 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223012824/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-07-05/features/8602090161_1_liberty-weekend-liberty-festivities-great-lawn |archivedate=February 23, 2015 |accessdate=January 3, 2016}}</ref> That same year, she appeared as the protagonist's mother in ''Rage of Angels: The Story Continues'',{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=251}} and in 1988 portrayed Nan Moore – the mother of a victim of the real-life [[Korean Air Lines Flight 007]] plane crash – in ''[[Shootdown (film)|Shootdown]]''.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=251–253}} 1989 saw her featured in ''[[The Shell Seekers]]'' as an Englishwoman recuperating from a heart attack,{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=253}} and in 1990 she starred in ''The Love She Sought'' as an American school teacher who falls in love with a Catholic priest while visiting Ireland; Lansbury thought it "a marvelous woman's story."{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=253–254}} She next starred as the eponymous cockney in a television film adaptation of the novel ''[[Mrs 'Arris Goes to Paris]]'', directed by her son and executive produced by her stepson.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=255|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2pp=292–294}} Lansbury's highest profile cinematic role since ''The Manchurian Candidate'' was as the voice of the singing teapot [[Mrs. Potts]] in the 1991 [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]] animation ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'', as part of which she performed the [[Beauty and the Beast (Disney song)|film's title song]]. She considered the appearance to be a gift for her three grandchildren.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1pp=254–255|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2pp=294–296}} Lansbury again lent her voice to an animated character, this time that of [[Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)|the Empress Dowager]], for the 1997 film ''[[Anastasia (1997 film)|Anastasia]]''.{{sfn|Hischak|2008|p=19}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Tartar |first=Andre |title=''Anastasia'' Headed to Broadway With Angela Lansbury |url=https://www.vulture.com/2012/06/anastasia-headed-to-broadway.html |website=[[New York (magazine)#Vulture|Vulture]] |date=June 16, 2012 |accessdate=December 15, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512191023/https://www.vulture.com/2012/06/anastasia-headed-to-broadway.html |archivedate=May 12, 2013}}</ref>

Lansbury's ''Murder, She Wrote'' fame resulted in her being employed to appear in advertisements and infomercials for [[Bufferin]], [[MasterCard]] and the [[Beatrix Potter]] Company.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=256}} In 1988, she released a [[VHS video]] titled ''Angela Lansbury's Positive Moves: My Personal Plan for Fitness and Well-Being'', in which she outlined her personal exercise routine, and in 1990 published a book with the same title co-written with Mimi Avins, which she dedicated to her mother.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=178, 257–258}} As a result of her work, she was awarded a [[CBE]] by the British government, given to her in a ceremony by [[Charles, Prince of Wales]], at the British consulate in Los Angeles.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=296}} While living for most of the year in California, Lansbury spent the Christmas period and the summer at Corymore House, a farmhouse overlooking the [[Celtic Sea]] at {{LinkedLabel|Q104305209}}<!--Ballywilliam-->, south of [[Cloyne]] in County Cork, which she had had built as a family home in 1991.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=262|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2p=292}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Horan |first1=Niamh |title='Murder, She Wrote' star Angela Lansbury left €1.2m Cork farmhouse to her children |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/murder-she-wrote-star-angela-lansbury-left-12m-cork-farmhouse-to-her-children/a1053880315.html |access-date=October 16, 2025 |work=[[Sunday Independent (Ireland)|Sunday Independent]] |date=December 10, 2023 |location=Dublin |language=en}}</ref>

===Final years: 2003–2022===
[[Image:Angela Lansbury in Deuce 2007.jpg|thumb|upright|Lansbury performing in ''[[Deuce (play)|Deuce]]'' on Broadway in 2007|alt=An elderly white woman wearing a red dress sitting in a chair]]

In the years following ''Murder, She Wrote'', Lansbury was increasingly preoccupied by her husband's deteriorating health; it was for this reason that she dropped out of being the lead role in the 2001 [[Kander and Ebb]] musical ''[[The Visit (musical)|The Visit]]'' before it opened.<ref>{{cite web |first=Kenneth |last=Jones |title=Angela Lansbury Withdraws From ''The Visit''; Producers Seek Alternatives |website=[[Playbill]] |date=July 20, 2000 |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/54268.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103160531/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-withdraws-from-the-visit-producers-seek-alternatives-90715 |archivedate=January 3, 2016 |accessdate=January 3, 2016}}</ref> Peter died in January 2003 of congestive heart failure at the couple's Brentwood home.<ref name="Shaw"/> Lansbury felt that after this she would not take on any more major acting roles, perhaps only making [[cameo appearance]]s.<ref name=green>{{cite web |first=Jesse |last=Green |date=April 29, 2007 |title=Surprising Herself, a Class Act Returns |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/theater/29gree.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/S/Seldes,%20Marian |website=The New York Times |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107222652/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/theater/29gree.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/S/Seldes,%20Marian |archivedate=November 7, 2017}}</ref> Wanting to spend more time in New York City, in 2006 she purchased a $2&nbsp;million [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]] in [[Manhattan]].<ref name=green/><ref name="Thorpe"/>

Lansbury appeared in a season six episode of the television show ''[[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit]]'', for which she was nominated for an [[Emmy Award]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web |first=Arit |last=John |title=A Definitive Ranking of Every Emmy-Nominated ''Law & Order: SVU'' Guest Star |website=[[The Atlantic|The Wire]] |date=September 19, 2014 |url=http://www.thewire.com/entertainment/2014/09/a-definitive-ranking-of-every-emmy-nominated-law-order-svu-guest-star/380296/ |accessdate=January 3, 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225215716/http://www.thewire.com/entertainment/2014/09/a-definitive-ranking-of-every-emmy-nominated-law-order-svu-guest-star/380296 |archivedate=February 25, 2015}}</ref> She also starred in the 2005 film ''[[Nanny McPhee]]'' as Aunt Adelaide, later informing an interviewer that working on it "pulled me out of the abyss" after her husband's death.<ref name="Thorpe">{{cite web |first=Vanessa |last=Thorpe |title=Angela Lansbury: Return of a Star who Shines ever Brighter |date=January 26, 2014 |website=[[The Observer]] |url=http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/jan/26/angela-lansbury-blithe-spirit-stage-theatre |accessdate=January 3, 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312113037/https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/jan/26/angela-lansbury-blithe-spirit-stage-theatre |archivedate=March 12, 2017}}</ref> Lansbury returned to Broadway after a 23-year absence in ''[[Deuce (play)|Deuce]]'', a play by [[Terrence McNally]] that opened at the [[Music Box Theatre]] in May 2007 for an 18-week limited run.<ref>{{cite web |first=Ernio |last=Hernandez |date=May 6, 2007 |title=Angela Lansbury and Marian Seldes Open in McNally's ''Deuce'' May 6 |website=Playbill |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-and-marian-seldes-open-in-mcnallys-deuce-may-6-140585 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404194018/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-and-marian-seldes-open-in-mcnallys-deuce-may-6-140585 |archivedate=April 4, 2015}}</ref> Lansbury received a Tony Award nomination for [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play|Best Leading Actress in a Play]] for her role.<ref>{{cite web |first=Andrew |last=Gans |date=June 8, 2007 |title=Dive Talk: Chatting with Deuce Tony Nominee (and Four-Time Winner) Angela Lansbury |website=Playbill |url=http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/diva-talk-chatting-with-deuce-tony-nominee-and-four-time-winner-angela-lans-141390/P2 |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103183801/http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/diva-talk-chatting-with-deuce-tony-nominee-and-four-time-winner-angela-lans-141390/P2 |archivedate=January 3, 2016}}</ref> In March 2009, she returned to Broadway for a revival of ''[[Blithe Spirit (play)|Blithe Spirit]]'' at the [[Shubert Theatre (Broadway)|Shubert Theatre]], where she took on the role of Madame Arcati.<ref>{{cite web |first=Ben |last=Brantley |title=The Medium as the Messenger |url=http://theater2.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/theater/reviews/16blit.html |work=The New York Times |date=March 15, 2009 |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728041624/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/theater/reviews/16blit.html |archivedate=July 28, 2020}}</ref> This appearance earned her the [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play|Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play]]; this was her fifth Tony Award, tying her with the previous record holder for the number of Tony Awards, [[Julie Harris (American actress)|Julie Harris]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Robert |last=Viagas |title=Lansbury Wins Fifth Tony; Ties Harris for Most Acting Honors |date=June 7, 2009 |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/lansbury-wins-fifth-tony-ties-harris-for-most-acting-honors-com-329614 |website=Playbill |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131082103/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/lansbury-wins-fifth-tony-ties-harris-for-most-acting-honors-329614 |archivedate=January 31, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> From December 2009 to June 2010, Lansbury then starred as Madame Armfeldt in a Broadway revival of ''[[A Little Night Music]]'' at the [[Walter Kerr Theatre]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Andrew |last=Gans |date=June 20, 2010 |title=Zeta-Jones and Lansbury Play Final Performance in ''Night Music'' Revival; Peters and Stritch Are in the Wings |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/zeta-jones-and-lansbury-play-final-performance-in-night-music-revival-peter-169429 |website=Playbill |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103172030/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/zeta-jones-and-lansbury-play-final-performance-in-night-music-revival-peter-169429 |archivedate=January 3, 2016}}</ref> The role earned her a seventh Tony Award nomination.<ref>{{cite web |first=Adam |last=Hetrick |date=May 18, 2010 |title=The Sun Will Set on Broadway's ''A Little Night Music'' June 20 |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/the-sun-will-set-on-broadways-a-little-night-music-june-20-168559#sthash.YdiSOYFM.dpuf |website=Playbill |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103185523/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/the-sun-will-set-on-broadways-a-little-night-music-june-20-168559 |archivedate=January 3, 2016}}</ref> In May 2010, she was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from [[Manhattan School of Music]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Adam |last=Hetrick |date=May 6, 2010 |title=Angela Lansbury to Receive Honorary Degree from Manhattan School of Music |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-to-receive-honorary-degree-from-manhattan-school-of-music-168257#sthash.80RSoac7.dpuf |website=Playbill |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103184248/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-to-receive-honorary-degree-from-manhattan-school-of-music-168257 |archivedate=January 3, 2016}}</ref> She then appeared in the 2011 film ''[[Mr. Popper's Penguins (film)|Mr. Popper's Penguins]]'', opposite [[Jim Carrey]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Jayme |last=Deerwester |date=January 13, 2011 |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2011-01-13-penguins13_ST_N.htm |title=Jim Carrey's Animal Magnetism Attracts ''Mr. Popper's Penguins'' |website=[[USA Today]] |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104051558/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2011-01-13-penguins13_ST_N.htm |archivedate=November 4, 2012}}.</ref>

From March to July 2012, Lansbury appeared as women's rights advocate Sue-Ellen Gamadge in the Broadway revival of [[Gore Vidal]]'s ''[[The Best Man (play)|The Best Man]]'' at the [[Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Kenneth |last=Jones |date=July 22, 2012 |title=Angela Lansbury Says Goodbye to ''The Best Man'' on July 22 |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/168290-Angela-Lansbury-Says-Goodbye-to-The-Best-Man-on-July-22 |website=Playbill |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130107113937/http://playbill.com/news/article/168290-Angela-Lansbury-Says-Goodbye-to-The-Best-Man-on-July-22 |archivedate=January 7, 2013}}</ref> From February 2013, she starred alongside [[James Earl Jones]] in an Australian tour of ''[[Driving Miss Daisy (play)|Driving Miss Daisy]]'',<ref name=daisy>{{cite web |first=Andrew |last=Gans |title=''Driving Miss Daisy'' Will Ride Into Australia with James Earl Jones and Angela Lansbury |website=Playbill |date=July 31, 2012 |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/driving-miss-daisy-will-ride-into-australia-with-james-earl-jones-and-angel-196205 |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105033459/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/168601-Driving-Miss-Daisy-Will-Ride-Into-Australia-with-James-Earl-Jones-and-Angela-Lansbury |archivedate=November 5, 2013}}</ref> an appearance that resulted in her pulling out from a scheduled role in [[Wes Anderson]]'s ''[[The Grand Budapest Hotel]]''.<ref>{{cite web |first=Josh |last=Ferri |title=Angela Lansbury Checks Out of New Wes Anderson Movie ''The Grand Budapest Hotel''|website=[[John Gore Organization|Broadway]]|date=October 10, 2012 |url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/164627/angela-lansbury-checks-out-of-new-wes-anderson-movie-the-grand-budapest-hotel/ |accessdate=December 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726041243/https://www.broadway.com/buzz/164627/angela-lansbury-checks-out-of-new-wes-anderson-movie-the-grand-budapest-hotel/ |archivedate=July 26, 2020}}</ref> In November 2013, she received an [[Academy Honorary Award]] for her lifetime achievement at the [[Governors Awards]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Adam |last=Hetrick |date=November 16, 2013 |title=Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin and More Receive Honorary Academy Awards Nov. 16 |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-steve-martin-and-more-receive-honorary-academy-awards-nov.--211833#sthash.7EEQZuI6.dpuf |website=Playbill |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103185006/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-steve-martin-and-more-receive-honorary-academy-awards-nov.--211833 |archivedate=January 3, 2016}}</ref> In 2014, Lansbury was appointed [[Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] by [[Queen Elizabeth II]].<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27047088|title= Angela Lansbury 'Proud' to be Made a Dame by the Queen|work= BBC News|date= April 16, 2014|access-date= May 6, 2021|archive-date= November 22, 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191122233238/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27047088|url-status= live}}</ref> From March 2014, Lansbury reprised her performance as Madame Arcati in ''Blithe Spirit'' at the [[Gielgud Theatre]] in London's West End, her first London stage appearance in nearly 40 years.<ref>{{cite web |first=Mark |last=Shenton |date=March 18, 2014 |website=Playbill |title=Angela Lansbury Opens in ''Blithe Spirit'' March 18, Marking First West End Appearance in Nearly 40 Years |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-opens-in-blithe-spirit-march-18-marking-first-west-end-appe-216091 |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018214134/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-opens-in-blithe-spirit-march-18-marking-first-west-end-appe-216091 |archivedate=October 18, 2014}}</ref> While in London, she made an appearance at the Angela Lansbury Film Festival, a screening of some of her films in Poplar.{{sfn|Crampton|2014|p=16}}<ref name="Louise Jury">{{cite web |url=http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/dame-angela-lansbury-returns-to-east-end-roots-to-host-film-festival-9237433.html |title=Dame Angela Lansbury Returns to East End Roots to Host Film Festival |website=[[Evening Standard]] |date=April 4, 2014 |first1=Louise |last1=Jury |first2=Rashid |last2=Razaq |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925111035/http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/dame-angela-lansbury-returns-to-east-end-roots-to-host-film-festival-9237433.html |archivedate=September 25, 2015}}</ref> From December 2014 to March 2015 she joined the tour of ''Blithe Spirit'' across North America.<ref>{{cite web |first=Andrew |last=Gans |title=North American Tour of ''Blithe Spirit'', Starring Angela Lansbury, Opens Tonight |website=Playbill |date=December 14, 2014 |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/north-american-tour-of-blithe-spirit-starring-angela-lansbury-opens-tonight-337304 |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110005838/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/north-american-tour-of-blithe-spirit-starring-angela-lansbury-opens-tonight-337304 |archivedate=January 10, 2015}}</ref> In April 2015 she received her first [[Olivier Award]] as Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Arcati,<ref>{{cite web |first=Mark |last=Shenton |title=Angela Lansbury Wins First Olivier Award; ''Sunny Afternoon'' Named Best New Musical & Wins 3 More Awards |date=April 12, 2015 |website=Playbill |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-wins-first-olivier-award-sunny-afternoon-named-best-new-musical-wins-3-more-awards-346571 |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415034027/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-wins-first-olivier-award-sunny-afternoon-named-best-new-musical-wins-3-more-awards-346571 |archivedate=April 15, 2015}}</ref> and in November 2015 was awarded the [[Oscar Hammerstein Award]] for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre.<ref>{{cite web |first=Andrew |last=Gans |title=Angela Lansbury Will Be Saluted in Starry NYC Evening This Fall |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-will-be-saluted-in-starry-nyc-evening-this-fall-353039# |website=Playbill |date=July 10, 2015 |accessdate=January 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925132207/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-will-be-saluted-in-starry-nyc-evening-this-fall-353039 |archivedate=September 25, 2015}}</ref>

Lansbury agreed to star as Mrs St Maugham in a Broadway run of [[Enid Bagnold]]'s 1955 play ''[[The Chalk Garden (play)|The Chalk Garden]]'', although later acknowledged that she no longer had the stamina for eight performances a week. Instead, she appeared in a one-night staged reading of the play at [[Hunter College]] in 2017.<ref name="Lawson"/> Her next role was as Aunt March in the BBC miniseries ''[[Little Women (2017 TV series)|Little Women]]'', screened in December 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Bruce R.|url=http://siouxcityjournal.com/entertainment/television/review-angela-lansbury-steals-little-women-from-younger-actresses/article_0007e2a5-7551-575c-8276-b546f09574c5.html|title=Review: Angela Lansbury Steals ''Little Women'' from Younger Actresses|work=[[Sioux City Journal]]|date=May 12, 2018|access-date=May 17, 2018|archive-date=May 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518130454/http://siouxcityjournal.com/entertainment/television/review-angela-lansbury-steals-little-women-from-younger-actresses/article_0007e2a5-7551-575c-8276-b546f09574c5.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, she appeared in the family film ''[[Buttons: A Christmas Tale]]'',<ref>{{cite web |last=Milligan |first=Kaitlin |title=Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury Star in ''Buttons: A New Musical Film'' |website=[[BroadwayWorld]] |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Dick-Van-Dyke-and-Angela-Lansbury-Star-in-BUTTONS-A-NEW-MUSICAL-FILM-20181016 |date=October 16, 2018 |accessdate=December 15, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215162637/https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Dick-Van-Dyke-and-Angela-Lansbury-Star-in-BUTTONS-A-NEW-MUSICAL-FILM-20181016 |archivedate=December 15, 2022}}</ref> as well as in the film ''[[Mary Poppins Returns]]''; her cameo role as the Balloon Lady involved singing the song "Nowhere To Go But Up".<ref>{{cite web |last=Bundel |first=Ani |title=Angela Lansbury's ''Mary Poppins Returns'' Cameo Will Take You To New Heights |url=https://www.elitedaily.com/p/angela-lansburys-mary-poppins-returns-cameo-will-take-you-to-new-heights-15551970 |website=[[Elite Daily]] |date=December 19, 2018 |accessdate=December 15, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215160828/https://www.elitedaily.com/p/angela-lansburys-mary-poppins-returns-cameo-will-take-you-to-new-heights-15551970 |archivedate=December 15, 2022}}</ref> That year also saw the release of animated film ''[[The Grinch (film)|The Grinch]]'', for which Lansbury voiced the Mayor of Whoville.<ref>{{cite web |title=''The Grinch'': Meet the Voices Behind Each Animated Performer |last=Carras |first=Christi |date=November 9, 2018 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/grinch-cast-meet-famous-voice-actors-1152452/pharrell-williams-as-the-narrator/ |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |accessdate=December 15, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215163543/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/grinch-cast-meet-famous-voice-actors-1152452/pharrell-williams-as-the-narrator/ |archivedate=December 15, 2022}}</ref> In November 2019, she returned to Broadway, portraying [[Lady Bracknell]] in a one-night benefit staging of Wilde's ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' for [[Roundabout Theatre Company]]'s [[American Airlines Theatre]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Andy |last=Lefkowitz |date=September 12, 2019 |url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/196876/angela-lansbury-will-return-to-the-stage-as-lady-bracknell-in-the-importance-of-being-earnest-benefit-performance/|title= Angela Lansbury Will Return to the Stage as Lady Bracknell in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' Benefit Performance|website=Broadway|access-date= April 26, 2020|archive-date= June 11, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200611131315/https://www.broadway.com/buzz/196876/angela-lansbury-will-return-to-the-stage-as-lady-bracknell-in-the-importance-of-being-earnest-benefit-performance/|url-status= live}}</ref> Lansbury made her final film appearance, a cameo role as herself, in the 2022 film ''[[Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=King |first=Jack |title=Whodunit Legend Angela Lansbury Makes a Bittersweet Cameo in ''Knives Out 2'' |website=[[GQ]] |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/angela-lansbury-knives-out-2-glass-onion |date=October 17, 2022 |accessdate=December 15, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221094845/https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/angela-lansbury-knives-out-2-glass-onion |archivedate=December 21, 2022}}</ref>

Lansbury died in her sleep at her home in the [[Brentwood, Los Angeles|Brentwood]] neighborhood of Los Angeles on October 11, 2022, at the age of 96.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Daniel |date=October 11, 2022 |title=Angela Lansbury, Star of Film, Stage and ''Murder, She Wrote'', Dies at 96 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/arts/angela-lansbury-dead.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014000814/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/arts/angela-lansbury-dead.html |archive-date=October 14, 2022 |access-date=October 15, 2022 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Li |first=David K. |date=October 11, 2022 |title=Angela Lansbury, ''Murder, She Wrote'' and ''Beauty and the Beast'' star, dies at 96 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/angela-lansbury-murder-wrote-beauty-beast-star-dies-96-rcna42421 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011194028/https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/angela-lansbury-murder-wrote-beauty-beast-star-dies-96-rcna42421 |archive-date=October 11, 2022 |access-date=October 15, 2022 |publisher=[[NBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Mike |date=October 11, 2022 |title=Angela Lansbury, Entrancing Star of Stage and Screen, Dies at 96 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/angela-lansbury-dead-murder-she-wrote-1235239215/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014185510/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/angela-lansbury-dead-murder-she-wrote-1235239215/ |archive-date=October 14, 2022 |access-date=October 15, 2022 |newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Driving Miss Daisy (8521420918).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=An elderly woman with her arms held aloft.|Lansbury on stage in  ''[[Driving Miss Daisy (play)|Driving Miss Daisy]]'' in 2013]]

Lansbury defined herself as being "Irish-British".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kennedy |first1=Jason |last2=Kelly |first2=Louise |date=February 21, 2016 |title='I am an Irish-British Actress' – Television Icon Angela Lansbury Honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award in Dublin|url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/i-am-an-irish-british-actress-television-icon-angela-lansbury-honoured-with-lifetime-achievement-award-in-dublin-34472135.html |work=Irish Independent |access-date=September 24, 2021|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924111032/https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/i-am-an-irish-british-actress-television-icon-angela-lansbury-honoured-with-lifetime-achievement-award-in-dublin-34472135.html |archive-date=September 24, 2021}}</ref> She became a US citizen in 1951, while retaining her British citizenship.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1p=90|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2p=101}} According to a 2014 article in the ''[[Irish Independent]]'', she also held Irish citizenship.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/irish-cabinet-gave-green-light-to-angela-lansburys-dame-honour-29910013.html| title=Irish Cabinet gave Green Light to Angela Lansbury's Dame Honour |work=Irish Independent |location=Dublin |date=January 12, 2014 |access-date=April 24, 2016 |first=Daniel |last=McConnell |archive-date=May 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509194457/http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/irish-cabinet-gave-green-light-to-angela-lansburys-dame-honour-29910013.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
Although adopting an Americanized accent for roles like that of her [[Jessica Fletcher]] character in ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'', Lansbury retained her English accent throughout her life.<ref name="BBCNews" /><ref>{{cite news |last=McQuillan |first=Rebecca |title=Obituary: Angela Lansbury, Gifted Actress Whose Success Ranged Across Stage, Film and Television |date=October 12, 2022 |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23041535.obituary-angela-lansbury-gifted-actress-whose-success-ranged-across-stage-film-television/ |work=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |accessdate=January 26, 2023 |archive-date=January 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126110349/https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23041535.obituary-angela-lansbury-gifted-actress-whose-success-ranged-across-stage-film-television/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Lansbury was a profoundly private person,{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=xi}} and disliked attempts at flattery.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=xiv}} Gottfried characterized her as being "Meticulous. Cautious. Self-editing. Deliberate. It is what the British call reserved".{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=301}} In ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', the theatre critic Dominic Cavendish stated that Lansbury's hallmarks were "self-composure, commitment and, yes, gentility", approaches he thought had become "in too short supply" in modern times.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cavendish |first=Dominic |title=Today's Crybaby Actors Have Much to Learn from Angela Lansbury |website=The Telegraph |date=October 12, 2022 |accessdate=December 12, 2022 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/todays-crybaby-actors-have-much-learn-angela-lansbury/ |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216101309/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/todays-crybaby-actors-have-much-learn-angela-lansbury/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Gottfried also commented that she was "as concerned, as sensitive, and as sympathetic as anyone might want in a friend".{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=302}}

Lansbury was married twice. Her first marriage was in 1945 to actor Richard Cromwell, who was 16 years older than she. They divorced in 1946 after Cromwell [[Coming out|came out]] as [[gay]].{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1pp=48–55}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Daniel |date=October 11, 2022 |title=Inside Angela Lansbury's 'perfect' marriage of 53 years |url=https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/angela-lansburys-perfect-marriage-of-53-years |access-date=October 15, 2025 |website=FOX TV Digital Team |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1949, Lansbury married actor and producer Peter Shaw, and they remained married until he died in 2003.<ref name="Shaw">{{cite magazine| first=Kenneth| last=Jones| date=February 6, 2003| url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/77726-Peter-Shaw-Angela-Lansburys-Producer-Agent-Husband-Dead-at-84| title=Peter Shaw, Angela Lansbury's Producer-Agent Husband, Dead at 84| magazine=Playbill| access-date=January 3, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206203314/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/peter-shaw-angela-lansburys-producer-agent-husband-dead-at-84-111404| archive-date=February 6, 2015}}</ref> They had two children together, Anthony Peter (b. 1952) and Deirdre Angela (b. 1953), and Lansbury became the stepmother of Shaw's son David from his first marriage. While Lansbury repeatedly stated that she wanted to put her children before her career, she admitted that she frequently had to leave them in California for long periods when she was working elsewhere.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=161–164}} In the 1970s, Lansbury moved the family to Ireland. In contemporary newspaper interviews, Lansbury stated the move was due to her children's use of drugs and Deirdre's involvement with [[Charles Manson]], and a desire to remove them from that environment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122577811/|title=Dec 23, 1979, page 13 - The Sydney Morning Herald at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com|website=www.newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Anchorage Daily News from Anchorage, Alaska | date=June 26, 1979 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/1054292273/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Sapulpa Daily Herald from Sapulpa, Oklahoma | date=August 17, 1972 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/661850565/ }}</ref>

Anthony became a television director and directed 68 episodes of ''Murder, She Wrote''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Connor |first1=John J. |title=Television View;. . . And How One Did So With Particular Grace |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/05/arts/television-view-and-how-one-did-so-with-particular-grace.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=October 11, 2022 |date=May 5, 1996 |archive-date=September 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908065222/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/05/arts/television-view-and-how-one-did-so-with-particular-grace.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Deirdre married a chef, and together they opened a restaurant in [[West Los Angeles]].{{sfnm|1a1=Gottfried|1y=1999|1pp=302–303|2y=2014|2p=5}} Lansbury had three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren at the time of her death in 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title="Murder, She Wrote" Star Angela Lansbury Dies at 96 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/murder-she-wrote-star-angela-lansbury-dies-at-96/ |publisher=[[CBS News]] |date=October 11, 2022 |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011235904/https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/murder-she-wrote-star-angela-lansbury-dies-at-96/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
Lansbury was a cousin of the [[Postgate family]], including the animator and activist [[Oliver Postgate]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Obituaries: Oliver Postgate |date=December 9, 2008 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/3689392/Oliver-Postgate.html |access-date=January 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925101750/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/3689392/Oliver-Postgate.html |archive-date=September 25, 2015}}</ref> She was also a cousin of the actor Kate (Geraghty) Lansbury,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/oct/18/kate-geraghty-obituary | title=Kate Geraghty obituary | newspaper=The Guardian | date=October 18, 2018 | last1=Whiskin | first1=Nancy}}</ref> and of the novelist [[Coral Lansbury]], whose son [[Malcolm Turnbull]] was [[Prime Minister of Australia]] from 2015 to 2018.<ref>{{cite news |first=Glenn |last=Fowler |date=April 4, 1991 |title=Coral Lansbury, 61, a Novelist and Victorian Scholar, is Dead |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=January 3, 2016 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE6D9153EF937A35757C0A967958260 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525223119/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/04/obituaries/coral-lansbury-61-a-novelist-and-victorian-scholar-is-dead.html |archive-date=May 25, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Angela Lansbury (8356239174).jpg|thumb|left|upright=.7|Lansbury photographed in 2013|alt=An elderly white women facing towards the right.]]
As a young actress, Lansbury was a self-professed [[wikt: homebody|homebody]],{{sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=21}} who commented that she loved housekeeping.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=74–80}} She preferred to spend quiet evenings with her friends inside her house because she did not like to engage in Hollywood nightlife.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1pp=74–80|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2p=85}} Her hobbies at the time included reading, riding, playing tennis, cooking, and playing the piano; she also had a keen interest in gardening.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=22|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=74–80}} She cited [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]] as her favourite author,{{sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=22}} and ''[[Roseanne]]'' and ''[[Seinfeld]]'' among her favourite television shows.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=311}} Lansbury was an avid letter writer who wrote letters by hand and made copies of all of them.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|pp=300–301}} At Howard Gotlieb's request, Lansbury's papers are housed at the [[Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center]] at [[Boston University]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Myrna|last=Oliver|title=Howard Gotlieb, 79; Archivist Collected Personal Papers of Notables of the 20th Century |date=December 8, 2005 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-dec-08-me-gotlieb8-story.html|access-date=January 3, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103162959/http://articles.latimes.com/2005/dec/08/local/me-gotlieb8|archive-date=January 3, 2016}}</ref>

Lansbury brought up her children as [[Anglicanism|Episcopalians]], but they were not members of a congregation.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=147}} She stated, "I believe that God is within all of us, that we are perfect, precious beings, and that we have to put our faith and trust in that."{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=147}} She supported [[Labour Party (UK)|Britain's Labour Party]], to which she had family ties,<ref name="Louise Jury" /> and the US [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]; she described herself as a "Democrat from the ground up" to quash online rumours that she endorsed the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/evan-mulvihill/angela-lansbury-democrat_b_2003445.html|title=Angela Lansbury on Erroneous Reports: "I Am Not a Republican"|first=Evan|last=Mulvihill|date=October 24, 2012|website=[[HuffPost]]|access-date=May 14, 2019|archive-date=October 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027200806/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evan-mulvihill/angela-lansbury-democrat_b_2003445.html|url-status=live}}</ref> She also supported various charities, particularly those combating [[domestic abuse]] and rehabilitating drug users.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=137|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=260}} In the 1980s, she also supported charities combating [[HIV/AIDS]].{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|pp=260–61}}

Lansbury was a [[chain smoker]] in early life,{{sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=22}} but quit smoking in the mid-1960s.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|pp=148–149}} In 1976 and 1987, she underwent cosmetic surgery on her neck.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=258}} During the 1990s, she began to suffer from [[arthritis]].{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=259}} Lansbury underwent [[hip replacement]] surgery in May 1994,{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=259}} followed by [[knee replacement]] surgery in 2005.<ref>{{cite web |first=Robert |last=Simonson |author-link1=Robert Simonson |title=Angela Lansbury to Have Knee Surgery |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/93978.html |website=Playbill |date=July 12, 2005 |access-date=January 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715085057/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-to-have-knee-surgery-126929 |archive-date=July 15, 2015}}</ref>

==Honours and legacy==
{{main|List of awards and nominations received by Angela Lansbury}}
{{Quote box
| width = 25em
| align = right
| quote = In a career stretching from ingénue to dowager, from elegant heroine to depraved villainess, [Lansbury] has displayed durability and flexibility, as well as a highly admired work ethic.
| salign = right
| source = —&thinsp;''The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance'', 2010{{sfn|Degen|2010}}
}}

In the 1960s, ''The New York Times'' referred to Lansbury as the "[[First lady#Non-political uses|First Lady]] of Musical Theatre".{{sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=131}} She described herself as an actress who also could sing,{{sfn|Bonanno|1987|p=131}} although in her early film appearances her singing was repeatedly dubbed;{{sfn|Hischak|2008|p=417}} Sondheim stated that she had a strong voice, albeit with a limited range.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=138}} In ''The Oxford Companion to the American Musical'', Thomas Hischak related that Lansbury was "more a character actress than a leading lady" for much of her career, one who brought "a sparkling stage presence to her work".{{sfn|Hischak|2008|p=417}} Gottfried described her as "an American icon",{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=xi}} while the BBC characterized her as "one of Britain's favourite exports,"<ref name="BBCNews">{{cite web |title=Obituary: Angela Lansbury |date=October 11, 2022 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19884667 |website=BBC News |access-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216094847/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19884667 |url-status=live}}</ref> and ''[[The Independent]]'' suggested that she could be considered Britain's most successful actress.<ref>{{cite web|first=Andrew|last=Johnson|date=June 13, 2010|title=Is Angela Lansbury Britain's Most Successful Actress Ever?|website=[[The Independent]]|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/is-angela-lansbury-britains-most-successful-actress-ever-1999190.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411070844/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/is-angela-lansbury-britains-most-successful-actress-ever-1999190.html|archive-date=April 11, 2014|access-date=January 3, 2016}}</ref> In ''[[The Guardian]]'', journalist [[Mark Lawson]] described her as a member of the "acting aristocracy in three countries" – Britain, Ireland, and the United States.<ref name="Lawson">{{cite web |last=Lawson |first=Mark |title=Angela Lansbury: The Scene-Stealing Grande Dame of Stage and Screen for 75 Years |date=October 11, 2022 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/oct/11/angela-lansbury-the-smart-scene-stealing-grande-dame-of-our-screens-for-75-years |website=The Guardian |access-date=December 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102100243/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/oct/11/angela-lansbury-the-smart-scene-stealing-grande-dame-of-our-screens-for-75-years |archivedate=November 2, 2022}}</ref>

Gottfried noted that Lansbury's public image was "practically saintly".{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=xii}} A 2007 interviewer for ''The New York Times'' described her as "one of the few actors it makes sense to call beloved", noting that a 1994 article in ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine awarded her a perfect score on its "lovability index".<ref name=green/> The ''[[New Statesman]]'' commented that she "has the kind of pulling power many younger and more ubiquitous actors can only dream of."{{sfn|Crampton|2014|p=16}} Lansbury was a gay icon.<ref name="gayicon"/><ref>{{cite news|first=Maev|last=Kennedy|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jan/23/angela-lansbury-murder-she-wrote-west-end-blithe-spirit|title=Angela Lansbury Admits ''Murder, She Wrote'' Will Always Haunt Her|website=The Guardian|date=January 23, 2014|access-date=January 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103113453/http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jan/23/angela-lansbury-murder-she-wrote-west-end-blithe-spirit|archive-date=January 3, 2015}}</ref> She described herself as being "very proud of the fact", attributing her popularity among gay people to her performance in ''[[Mame (musical)|Mame]]'';<ref name="gayicon"/> an article in ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' suggested that ''Murder, She Wrote'' had further broadened her appeal with that demographic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/Who-knew-Murder-She-Wrote-character-was-a-gay-icon.html|title=Polaneczky: Who Knew ''Murder, She Wrote'' Character was a Gay Icon? |first=Ronnie |last=Polaneczky |website=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=March 15, 2017|access-date=July 18, 2021|archive-date=July 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718112847/https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/Who-knew-Murder-She-Wrote-character-was-a-gay-icon.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the announcement of Lansbury's death, many figures in the entertainment industry praised her on social media.<ref name="skynews">{{cite web |title=Tributes Pour in for Dame Angela Lansbury After Her Death Aged 96 |publisher=[[Sky News]] |date=October 12, 2022 |url=https://news.sky.com/story/tributes-pour-in-for-dame-angela-lansbury-after-her-death-aged-96-12718430#:~:text=Jason%20Alexander%2C%20who%20appeared%20in,my%20darlings%2C%20was%20EVERYTHING!%22 |access-date=December 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018030439/https://news.sky.com/story/tributes-pour-in-for-dame-angela-lansbury-after-her-death-aged-96-12718430 |archivedate=October 18, 2022}}</ref> The actor [[Jason Alexander]] called her "one of the most versatile, talented, graceful, kind, witty, wise, classy ladies" he had ever met.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Perez |first1=Lexy |last2=White |first2=Abbey |title=''Beauty and the Beast'' Stars, Viola Davis Pay Tribute to Angela Lansbury: "She Touched Four Generations" |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/angela-lansbury-dead-hollywood-tributes-1235239255/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=October 11, 2022 |access-date=December 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128093158/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/angela-lansbury-dead-hollywood-tributes-1235239255/ |archivedate=November 28, 2022}}</ref> Actor [[Uzo Aduba]] called her an "icon of the stage", while actor [[Josh Gad]] noted that it was rare that "one person can touch multiple generations, creating a breadth of work that defines decade after decade. Angela Lansbury was that artist".<ref name="skynews"/> Screenwriter and actor [[Mark Gatiss]] praised Lansbury as "the very definition of a pro," while Douglas C. Baker, the producing director for [[Center Theatre Group]], stated that "Angela was a titan of show business, but at the same time she was one of the most kind and approachable people you would ever meet [...] Impeccably professional, genuine and deeply hilarious."<ref name="LAT">{{cite web|url= https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-10-11/angela-lansbury-dead-celebrity-reactions|title=Hollywood Pays Tribute to Angela Lansbury: 'She, my Darlings, was EVERYTHING!'|website=Los Angeles Times |first=Alexandra |last=Del Rosario|date=October 11, 2022|access-date= October 30, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101093432/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-10-11/angela-lansbury-dead-celebrity-reactions |archivedate=November 1, 2022}}</ref> Former [[Walt Disney Pictures|Walt Disney Studios]] CEO [[Robert Iger]] described her "a consummate professional, a talented actress, and a lovely person."<ref name="huff2022">{{cite web |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/angela-lansbury-tributes_n_6346ca13e4b08e0e607eed14 |title=Viola Davis, George Takei And More Pay Tribute To Angela Lansbury: 'An Absolute Legend' |website=HuffPost |first=Marco |last=Margaritoff |date=October 12, 2022 |access-date=October 30, 2022 |archive-date=October 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030133347/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/angela-lansbury-tributes_n_6346ca13e4b08e0e607eed14 |url-status=live}}</ref> Others who posted in remembrance of Lansbury included [[Kristin Chenoweth]], [[Viola Davis]], [[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]], [[Harvey Fierstein]], [[Kathy Griffin]], [[Jeremy O. Harris]], [[Brent Spiner]], [[George Takei]], and [[Rachel Zegler]].<ref name="huff2022"/><ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/angela-lansbury-death-celebrity-reactions-1235154349/|title= Kathy Griffin, Jason Alexander & More Stars Mourn the Death of 'Fabulous' Angela Lansbury|magazine=Billboard|first=Rania|last=Aniftos|date=October 11, 2022|access-date= October 30, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012073319/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/angela-lansbury-death-celebrity-reactions-1235154349/|archivedate=October 12, 2022}}</ref><ref name="LAT"/> On October 12 [[West End theatre|theatres across the West End]] of London, dimmed their lights for two minutes to mark Lansbury's passing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/west-end-dame-joan-collins-broadway-catherine-zetajones-b2201431.html|title=West End to dim lights in honour of 'immensely talented' Dame Angela Lansbury|date=September 27, 2024|work=[[WhatsOnStage.com]]|accessdate=October 4, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/west-end-dame-joan-collins-broadway-catherine-zetajones-b2201431.html|title=West End to dim lights in Maggie Smith's memory|date=October 12, 2023|work=[[The Independent]]|accessdate=October 6, 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Walk of fame, angela lansbury.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Lansbury's star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in Los Angeles|alt=A five-point star set in the ground; the name "Angela Lansbury" is written in the centre of it in gold lettering]]
Lansbury was recognised for her achievements in Britain on multiple occasions. In 2002, the [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]] (BAFTA) gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award.{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=261}} She was appointed [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in the [[1994 Birthday Honours]],{{sfn|Edelman|Kupferberg|1996|p=261}} and subsequently was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the [[2014 New Year Honours]] for services to drama, charitable work, and philanthropy.<ref name="Dame">{{cite web|date=December 31, 2013|title=New Year's Honours: Lansbury and Keith become Dames|website=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25550751 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317074019/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25550751 |archive-date=March 17, 2015 |access-date=January 3, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> On being made a dame by Queen [[Elizabeth II]] at [[Windsor Castle]], Lansbury stated: "I'm joining a marvellous group of women I greatly admire like [[Judi Dench]] and [[Maggie Smith]]. It's a lovely thing to be given that nod of approval by your own country and I cherish it."<ref name="Dame"/>

Lansbury won six Golden Globe Awards and a [[People's Choice Awards|People's Choice Award]] for her television and film work.<ref>{{cite news |last=Reid |first=Joe |date=October 12, 2022 |title=Angela Lansbury Refused to Be Defined By Her Lack of an Emmy |website=Primetimer |url=https://www.primetimer.com/features/angela-lansbury-emmy-defeats |access-date=January 26, 2023 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012155915/https://www.primetimer.com/features/angela-lansbury-emmy-defeats |archivedate=October 12, 2022}}</ref><ref>[http://www.goldenglobes.com/person/angela-lansbury "Angela Lansbury Golden Globe History – 15 Nomination(s), 6 Win(s)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005024347/http://www.goldenglobes.com/person/angela-lansbury |date=October 5, 2016}}, goldenglobes.org. Retrieved April 15, 2011.</ref> She never won an Emmy Award despite 18 nominations. As of 2009, she held the record for the most unsuccessful Emmy nominations by a performer.<ref>{{cite news|title=Can Emmy's Biggest Loser Bill Maher Ever Win?|url=http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2009/07/will-emmys-biggest-loser-bill-maher-ever-win.html|website=Los Angeles Times|date=July 20, 2009|access-date=October 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713022901/http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2009/07/will-emmys-biggest-loser-bill-maher-ever-win.html|archive-date=July 13, 2015}}</ref> She was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, but never won. Reflecting on this in 2007, she stated that she was at first "terribly disappointed, but subsequently very glad that [she] did not win" because she believed that she would have otherwise had a less successful career.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lansbury Pleased Not to Have Won Oscars |url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/lansbury-pleased-not-to-have-won-oscars_1030934 |website=[[Contactmusic.com|Contact Music]] |date=May 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722153555/http://www.contactmusic.com/news/lansbury-pleased-not-to-have-won-oscars_1030934 |archive-date=July 22, 2012 |access-date=January 3, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2013, the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] Board of Governors voted to bestow upon Lansbury an [[Honorary Academy Award]] for her lifetime achievements in the industry. The actors [[Emma Thompson]] and [[Geoffrey Rush]] offered tributes at the Governors Awards where the ceremony was held, and [[Robert Osborne]] of [[Turner Classic Movies]] presented her with the Oscar, stating that "Angela has been adding class, talent, beauty, and intelligence to the movies" since 1944.<ref name="Kilday">{{cite news|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-academy-honor-angela-lansbury-620000|website=The Hollywood Reporter|first1=Gregg|last1=Kilday |last2=Ford |first2=Rebecca |title=Oscars: Academy to Honor Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin, Piero Tosi and Angelina Jolie|date=September 5, 2013|access-date=January 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610205819/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-academy-honor-angela-lansbury-620000|archive-date=June 10, 2015}}</ref> The Oscar statue is inscribed: "To Angela Lansbury, an icon who has created some of cinema's most memorable characters inspiring generations of actors".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tqK8NFvEYM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/3tqK8NFvEYM| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title= Robert Osborne Honours Angela Lansbury at the 2013 Governors Awards | date=November 17, 2013|via= YouTube|access-date= December 28, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{{See main|Angela Lansbury on screen and stage}}

==Publications==
* {{cite book|last1=Lansbury|first1=Angela|author-link=|last2=Avins|first2=Mimi|author-link2=| date=1990|title=Angela Lansbury's Positive Moves: My Personal Plan for Fitness and Well-Being|url=|location=New York|publisher=[[Delacorte Press]]|page=|isbn=978-0-385-30223-4}}

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[List of American film actresses]]
* [[List of American television actresses]]
* [[List of British actors]]
* [[List of people from Hampstead]]
* [[List of people from Los Angeles]]
* [[List of people from Malibu, California]]
* [[List of people from New York City]]
* [[List of people from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]
* [[List of women writers]]
* [[List of British Academy Award nominees and winners]]
* [[List of actors with Academy Award nominations]]
* [[List of actors with two or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Bonanno |first=Margaret Wander |title=Angela Lansbury: A Biography |year=1987 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-312-00561-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/angelalansburybi00bona_0}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Clark |first=Lynn Schofield |contribution=Lansbury, Angela (1925-) |editor=Horace Newcomb |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JUzIAgAAQBAJ&dq=%27%27Encyclopedia+of+Television%22+%22Angela+Lansbury%22&pg=PA1318 |title=Encyclopedia of Television |edition=second |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon and New York |isbn=978-1-57958-394-1 |pages=1318–1319 |access-date=January 5, 2023 |archive-date=January 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105012100/https://books.google.com/books?id=JUzIAgAAQBAJ&dq=%27%27Encyclopedia+of+Television%22+%22Angela+Lansbury%22&pg=PA1318 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Crampton |first=Caroline |title=Angela Lansbury's Life on the Stage |magazine=New Statesman |date=April 2014 |volume=143 |number=5205 |page=16}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |last=Degen |first=John |contribution=Lansbury, Angela |title=The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance |others=Dennis Kennedy (editor) |year=2010 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-172791-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Edelman |first1=Rob |last2=Kupferberg |first2=Audrey E. |title=Angela Lansbury: A Life on Stage and Screen |year=1996 |publisher=Carol Publishing Corporation |location=Secaucus, New Jersey |isbn=978-1-55972-327-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/angelalansburyli0000edel}}
* {{cite book |last=Gilvey |first=John Anthony |year=2005 |title=Before the Parade Passes By: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical |publisher=Macmillan |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-312-33776-6}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gottfried |first1=Martin |author-link1=Martin Gottfried |title=Balancing Act: The Authorised Biography of Angela Lansbury |year=1999 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |location=New York |isbn=978-0-316-32225-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/balancingactauth00gott}}
* {{cite book |last=Hischak |first=Thomas |year=2008 |title=The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television |location=Oxford and New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-533533-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000hisc}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project auto}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{TCMDb name}}
* {{Playbill person}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes person}}
* {{Emmys person|angela-lansbury}}
* {{The Interviews name}}
* {{Hollywood Walk of Fame|Angela-Lansbury}}
* {{discogs artist|Angela Lansbury}}
* {{NPG name|id=05490}}
* {{cite interview | url = http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/27/40-years-later-angela-lansbury-returns-to-the-london-stage-at-88/ | title = 40 years later, Angela Lansbury returns to the London stage – at 88 | publisher = CNN |url-status= dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220122021242/https://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/27/40-years-later-angela-lansbury-returns-to-the-london-stage-at-88/ | archive-date = January 22, 2022 | interviewer-link = Christiane Amanpour | interviewer-first = Christiane | interviewer-last= Amanpour | date = March 27, 2014}}

{{Navboxes
|title=[[List of awards and nominations received by Angela Lansbury|Awards for Angela Lansbury]]
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{{Academy Honorary Award}}
{{Agatha Award}}
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{{Disney Legends Awards 1990s}}
{{DramaDesk MusicalActress}}
{{DramaDesk PlayFeaturedActress}}
{{Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actress Motion Picture}}
{{Golden Globe Award Best Actress TV Drama}}
{{Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year}}
{{Kennedy Center Honorees 2000s}}
{{OlivierAward PlaySupportingPerformance}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{National Medal of Arts recipients 1990s}}
{{Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award}}
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{{1996 Television Hall of Fame}}
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