Anna Massey: Movies & Box Office

Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 1937 – 3 July 2011) was an English actress celebrated for her distinctive cut‑glass voice and a career that spanned more than five decades. Born in Thakeham, Sussex to actress Adrianne Allen and Canadian‑born Hollywood star Raymond Massey, she grew up in England after her parents’ early divorce and was nurtured by a family steeped in theatrical tradition, including her brother Daniel Massey and her uncle, former Governor General of Canada Vincent Massey. Despite lacking formal drama‑school training, Anna burst onto the stage at seventeen in May 1955 as Jane in The Reluctant Debutante at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, and quickly became a household name after repeating the role in London and New York. She made a memorable film debut in Gideon's Day (1958) under the direction of her godfather, John Ford, and later appeared in cult classics such as Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom (1960) and Otto Preminger’s Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965). Her collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock in Frenzy (1972) showcased her ability to blend vulnerability and strength, even though body doubles performed the brief nude scenes. Over the years she amassed more than one hundred character roles across British film and television, earning a BAFTA for Best Actress for the TV adaptation of Hotel du Lac (1986) and a Laurence Olivier Award for her supporting turn in The Importance of Being Earnest (1982).

Massey’s television work was equally prolific, with standout performances in The Pallisers (1974), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1978), and the celebrated 1979 adaptation of Rebecca alongside her then‑husband Jeremy Brett. She enchanted radio audiences as the narrator of BBC’s This Sceptred Isle and co‑devised the series Daunt and Dervish. Known for meticulous script preparation—using coloured pens to mark breaths and pauses—she brought a “stillness” and precision to every role. Honoured with a CBE in 2004 for services to drama, she authored an autobiography, Telling Some Tales (2006), and continued acting almost to the end of her life, appearing in the 2008 BBC adaptation of Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Anna Massey passed away from lung cancer on 3 July 2011 in Kensington, London, leaving behind a legacy of elegance, depth, and an indelible impact on British performing arts.