The legendary actress Angela Lansbury, most famous for her role as in Murder, She Wrote, has passed away at the age of 96.
The Irish-British and American actress was best known for her portrayal of Jessica Fletcher in American drama series.
She passed away in her sleep five days before her 97th birthday, her family said in a statement.
She was born in London in 1925 and later moved to the US to avoid the Blitz. Her mother Moyna McGill was born in Belfast, while her father Edgar, a timber merchant, died when Angela was just nine, prompting her mother to move to America with Angela, her twin brothers and her half-sister.
Fame came quickly for Lansbury when she was cast in Gaslight aged just 17; she received an Oscar nomination for her role as cockney maid Nancy.
In her lifetime, Lansbury was nominated for an Oscar three times, and was a five-time Tony Award winner.
She also owned a home in Cork and had a long association with the island of Ireland.
Speaking to the Irish Post in 2014 while she was in London to launch a production of a new play, she said:
“I’m a bit Irish too you know, I have a house in Ireland and I go every year. I’m discovering my roots. My mother was born there, and my grandparents on that side of the family.
“I'm very very comfortable there; I find it an extraordinarily warm and informal place to live. I'm left alone there.
“On the street people say, 'hi how are you,' and I say 'I'm grand how are you?' It's a very easy going place to be and I love Ireland for that reason.”
She also spoke of her love for Barry's tea:
“I drink very strong tea. I have to get some Barry's but I don't know where to get it. I can’t find it in London.
"It really gets me off and running.”
She added that she spent many happy years in Ireland with her late husband, Peter, and children Deirdre and Anthony, and explained that they built the house in Cork “on the order of an old-fashioned Irish farmhouse.”
As she was an Irish Citizen her British honour of the title ‘Dame’ had to be formally approved by the Irish Cabinet in order to allow her obtain the title. This is in accordance with the Irish Constitution.
She is survived by three children and her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury, as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
