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Portrait of Judith Anderson. Photo by Carl Van Vechten.

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Dame Judith Anderson

Dame Judith Anderson is a popular Australian actress who was born on 10^th February 1897 in Adelaide, British Province of South Australia. Frances Margaret Anderson was her birth name and later she was known professionally as Judith Anderson.

Dame Judith Anderson was the last child of the four born to Jessie Margaret who was a former nurse. Her father, James Anderson Anderson who was Scottish by birth was a pioneering prospector and a sharebroker.

Dame Judith Anderson pursued her education in a private school, Norwood but her education ended there and she never graduated.  She was married twice in her life and neither of her marriage experience was a jolly holiday.

As a result of her hard work, she was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia during the 1991 Australian Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Dame Judith Anderson became very successful in her career in television, stage, and film winning the Tony Award and two Emmy Awards.

She spent most of her life in Santa Barbara, California where she died in 1992 at the age of 94 after she was diagnosed with pneumonia.

Below are the top ten fascinating facts about Dame Judith Anderson

1. She is one of the 20^th Century鈥檚 Greatest Classical Stage Actors

Judith Anderson. Photo by Carl Van Vechten.

Dame Judith Anderson has been very successful in her career including in television, film, and stage. She has also been considered one of the greatest classical stage actors of the 20^th century.

For her excellent work, she was nominated for the Grammy Awards and an Academy Award. During her career, she won the Tony Award and two Emmy Awards.

She also had the opportunity to perform on a stage in Elizabeth the Queen but it however had a poor review.

2. Julius Knight Laid the Foundation for her Acting

Dame Judith Anderson made her first appearance in 1915, as Francee Anderson. During the play, she played the role of Stephanie in the film “A Royal Divorce” which was acted in the Theatre Royal in Sydney.

Julius Knight was a Scottish actor who was leading the company and he played a significant role in laying the foundation for her acting career.

Dame Judith Anderson appeared in several films with Julius including The Three Musketeers, The Scarlet Pimpernel, David Garrick, and Monsieur Beacauire.

She also had the opportunity to tour New Zealand in 1917.

3. Dame Judith Anderson Worked with the Emma Bunting Stock Company

Dame Judith Anderson was very ambitious as she grew up and wanted to go to various lengths to achieve great success.

She wanted to leave Australia and go to London since that was the major destination for local actors. However, due to the war that was taking place, she settled to go to the United States.

She traveled to California but she did not have any success for four months. Later on, she left for New York but still without success and she finally found work with Emma Bunting Stock Company.

4. Her Career Began with Several Stage Performances

Photo by Kyle Head on

Dame Judith Anderson began her career with several performances on stage, particularly during the early 1920s. She made her first appearance on Broadway in 1922 in the film Up the Stairs.

In the following year, she starred in the film The Crooked Square and Patches which she acted in Chicago. She also featured in Weston in the same year although it only had a short run.

The following year she starred together with Louis Calhern in the film Cobra. In 1925 she played the film The Dove which established her on Broadway with 1010 performances.

5. Dame Judith Anderson Featured with other Prominent Actors

Dame Judith Anderson had a very rare opportunity as she starred with several prominent actors in her career. She featured in the film John Gielgud鈥檚 Hamlet where she played the role of Gertrude together with Lillian Gish as Ophelia.

After joining the Old Vic Company in 1937 in London, she starred as Lady Macbeth alongside an English actor and director, Laurence Olivier in production by Michel Saint-Denis.

6. Dame Judith Anderson was Married Twice

Dame Judith Anderson was married twice in her lifetime and still divorced in the two marriages. She was married to Benjamin Harrison who was an English professor at the University of California. The marriage lasted for two years between 1937 and 1939.

She was later married to Luther Greene who was a theatrical producer and the marriage lasted for five years between 1946 and 1951.

7. Dame Judith Anderson Returned to Medea at an Old Age

Judith Anderson. Photo by

Dame Judith Anderson continued with her career until her old age when she returned to Medea in 1982. She played the role of a nurse alongside an Australian actress, Zoe Ada Caldwell.

She was later nominated for the Tony Awards for Best Performance.

8. Dame Judith Anderson Recorded Spoken Word

Apart from her spectacular acting career, Dame Judith Anderson has also recorded several spoken words for Caedmon Audio. She began recording between the 1950s and 1970s including some of the scenes from Macbeth with Maurice Anderson.

9. She Featured in Alfred Hitchcock鈥檚 Rebecca

Photo by Abhyuday Majhi on

Dame Judith Anderson starred in the film 鈥淩ebecca鈥� which majorly boosted her career. She acted as Mrs. Danvers where she was supposed to torment the young bride who was meant to become the second wife to Mrs. De Winter.

She even got to encourage her to commit suicide and even taunt her husband concerning the memory of his first wife.

10. She Triumphed as Medea in a Version of Euripides

Dame Judith Anderson greatly triumphed as Medea, a version that was written by a poet, Robinson Jeffers. John Gielgud was the producer who also played the role of Jason. The film was very popular and Dame Judith Anderson won the Tony Award for Best Actress for her great performance.

Dame Judith Anderson is a well-known Australian actress who has been featured in several films. Apart from acting, she has also recorded several spoken words for Caedmon Audio between the 1950s and 1970s. Dame Judith Anderson won the Tony Award as a result of her excellent performance.