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IMDbPro

Elizabeth Sellars(1921-2019)

  • Actress
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Elizabeth Sellars in Les 55 Jours de Pékin (1963)
Home Video Trailer from Anchor Bay Entertainment
Play trailer2:50
Dans les griffes de la momie (1967)
1 Video
9 Photos
Hazel-eyed Glaswegian Elizabeth Sellars enrolled at Lincoln's Inn (in central London) to study law with the intention of becoming a barrister. Somehow, this fell through, though she continued to nurture a lifelong interest in the legal profession which kept her reading law books well into her acting career. Perhaps on the advice of her flatmate Jean Hardwicke (niece of the famous thespian Cedric), Elizabeth attended a theatrical audition and thereafter went on to study acting at RADA and at the Bristol Old Vic. Beginning in 1941, she spent several years on the repertory stage in her native Scotland before making her London debut five years later opposite Alec Guinness in "The Brothers Karamazov". Her first major hit was at the West End in "Tea and Sympathy" in the role of the housemaster's wife. Elizabeth's career in British films spanned the years from 1948 to 1960. Following her marriage to Francis Austin Henley, a consultant gastrointestinal surgeon at the Central Middlesex Hospital, her appearances became rather less frequent though she continued to pop up from time to time on the small screen.

Elizabeth was a reluctant star. Often dissatisfied with the material on offer, she once lamented "we're expected to sink back into the background and look nice". Between 1951 and 1952, she took a sabbatical for nearly a year to travel through Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) where she developed a great fondness for Oriental philosophy, art and spicy curries (to add to her other pastimes of studying Roman law, horse riding and swimming). She did manage to fit a film career into her busy schedule and this encompassed a number of noteworthy performances, often as wily, faithless or jilted wives or 'the other woman'. A fruitful sojourn in Hollywood led to back-to-back appearances in La comtesse aux pieds nus (1954) (as Humphrey Bogart's wife), Désirée (1954) (as Julie Clary, Bonaparte's sister-in-law) and Le prince des acteurs (1955) (as Asia Booth, sister of Edwin Thomas and John Wilkes). Her best acting was reserved for the British cinema with gritty roles in Le Voyageur des plaines (1957) and (as an alcoholic mother) in La méprise (1973). Of her role in Rapt (1952), a London journalist described her as having "lashings of glamour of a breathless, brooding type usually reserved for sultry Hollywood." While perhaps not a beauty in the conventional sense, she projected intelligence, wit and often humour which made her a favourite with British movie audiences in the 50s. The director Charles Crichton thought her personality resembled the "early allure of Ingrid Bergman and the power of Bette Davis."

During the 60s, Elizabeth alternated between TV work and the stage. As a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon she proved her mettle as a serious actress in the classics, notably "Troilus and Cressida" (as Helen), "Hamlet" (as Gertrude) and "Richard III" (as Queen Elizabeth). She retired in 1990 and passed away in France at the venerable age of 98 on December 30 2019.
BornMay 6, 1921
DiedDecember 30, 2019(98)
BornMay 6, 1921
DiedDecember 30, 2019(98)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

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Known for

La comtesse aux pieds nus (1954)
La comtesse aux pieds nus
6.9
  • Jerry
  • 1954
Forbidden Cargo (1954)
Forbidden Cargo
6.5
  • Rita Compton
  • 1954
The Broken Horseshoe (1953)
The Broken Horseshoe
5.8
  • Della Freeman
  • 1953
Les 55 Jours de Pékin (1963)
Les 55 Jours de Pékin
6.7
  • Lady Sarah Robertson
  • 1963

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress



  • Tim Bentinck, Moira Brooker, and Louisa Rix in Made in Heaven (1990)
    Made in Heaven
    TV Series
    • Grace Johnstone
    • 1990
  • Sarah Miles in A Ghost in Monte Carlo (1990)
    A Ghost in Monte Carlo
    5.9
    TV Movie
    • Countess Kissler
    • 1990
  • The Play on One (1988)
    The Play on One
    5.8
    TV Series
    • Jean Sutherland
    • 1988
  • Farrington of the F.O. (1986)
    Farrington of the F.O.
    6.4
    TV Series
    • Delia Murdock
    • 1987
  • Derek Francis in Winter Sunlight (1984)
    Winter Sunlight
    TV Mini Series
    • Dorothy Ashford
    • 1984
  • Ian Richardson in Number 10 (1983)
    Number 10
    8.5
    TV Mini Series
    • Lady Bradford
    • 1983
  • Play for Today (1970)
    Play for Today
    7.7
    TV Series
    • Annabel Fox
    • Mrs. Coade
    • 1981–1983
  • Laurence Olivier and Alan Bates in A Voyage Round My Father (1982)
    A Voyage Round My Father
    7.2
    TV Movie
    • Mother
    • 1982
  • Beasts (1976)
    Beasts
    7.3
    TV Mini Series
    • Angie Truscott
    • 1976
  • Shades of Greene (1975)
    Shades of Greene
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Marie
    • 1975
  • Churchill's People (1974)
    Churchill's People
    5.6
    TV Series
    • Albrida
    • 1975
  • La méprise (1973)
    La méprise
    6.6
    • Lady Franklin's Mother
    • 1973
  • Norman Bowler in The Bellcrest Story (1973)
    The Bellcrest Story
    TV Series
    • Mary Perkins
    • 1973
  • Ian Hendry and Geraldine McEwan in Late Night Theatre (1972)
    Late Night Theatre
    TV Series
    • The woman
    • 1972
  • Edward Fox, George Cole, Victor Maddern, and Suzanne Neve in Shadows of Fear (1970)
    Shadows of Fear
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Isabel
    • 1971

Videos1

The Mummy's Shroud
Trailer 2:50
The Mummy's Shroud

Personal details

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  • Height
    • 1.65 m
  • Born
    • May 6, 1921
    • Glasgow, Scotland, UK
  • Died
    • December 30, 2019
    • Claviers, Var, France(undisclosed)
  • Spouse
    • Francis Austin HenleySeptember 8, 1960 - January 31, 2009 (his death)
  • Parents
      Stephen Sellars
  • Other works
    She acted in James Elroy Flecker's play, "Hassan," at the Cambridge Theatre in London, England with Andre Huguenet, Hilda Simms, Frederick Valk, and Arthur Lowe in the cast. Basil Dean was director. The crew included Delius (music), Marie Rambert (ballets), and Motley (art direction).

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Had plastic surgery on her nose.

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