Angela Lansbury, the three-time Oscar nominee, has died aged 96

Angela Lansbury
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Dame Angela Lansbury, best known to a generation for the series Murder, She Wrote, and who won children's hearts as the voice of Mrs. Potts in the animated movie Beauty and the Beast, has died aged 96. 

In a statement to the BBC, Lansbury's children confirmed that she died in her sleep just five days before turning 97. "The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles," the family told the publication.

Lansbury came to international acclaim in the 1944 movie Gaslight, a movie that would eventually spawn the phrase "gaslighting" as it revolved around a man manipulating events to cause a woman distress. Lansbury played a maid in the film and she was later nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars for her performance. The following year, she was again nominated in the same category at the prestigious award show for her role in The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Although she continued to work in Hollywood, awards were less forthcoming in the immediate years after, until she was once again nominated for the Oscar for her part in John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate alongside Frank Sinatra in 1962. In the meantime, Lansbury had built an impressive CV on television and on stage, appearing as the lead in A Taste of Honey on Broadway. She went on to win five competitive Tony Awards and was given the Lifetime Achievement award in 2022.

In 1971, she appeared in Disney's hugely successful Bedknobs and Broomsticks, endearing her to a generation of children. She would later return to the studio on multiple occasions, perhaps most famously voicing Mrs. Potts in the animated version of Beauty and the Beast. She also had a role in Mary Poppins Returns.

However, it was her role as detective Jessica Fletcher in the American TV series Murder, She Wrote that won her millions of fans around the world. She played the role for 12 years, starting in 1984, and Lansbury was nominated for a staggering 10 Golden Globes for her continued performance in the role. At its peak, 30 million viewers tuned in every week.

She was later given lifetime achievement awards by both the Oscars and Bafta, and had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was made a Dame in 2014. She is survived by three children, as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Jack Shepherd
Freelance Journalist

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.

Read more
Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in Maria
Angelina Jolie's new movie about a world-famous opera singer is a poignant story of life in the public eye
Angela Bassett in Black Panther 2
Angela Bassett thought she was "deserving" of an Oscar for Black Panther 2: "I put in good work over time"
Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter
Jason Isaacs says Meryl Streep should play Lucius Malfoy in HBO's Harry Potter series: "She can do anything"
Debra Jo Rupp as Sharon in Agatha All Along
A quickly killed off Agatha All Along star thought she'd be a witch: "I get there and no one is really looking me in the eye"
The best Disney movies of all time
The 30 best Disney movies of all time
David Lynch and Kyle MacLachlan
Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan pays heartfelt tribute to "dear friend" David Lynch, while Nicolas Cage, Steven Spielberg, and more remember "brave, brilliant" filmmaker
Latest in Movies
Chris Hemsworth's name on the back of a director's chair
Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal live blog
Halloween director John Carpenter
15 years on from his last horror movie, Halloween's John Carpenter says he'd "love to direct again" – but he has one condition
The cast of Suicide Squad (2016)
David Ayer admits James Gunn has good reason not to release his cut of Suicide Squad, but he remains hopeful it'll happen
The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast assemble
Fantastic Four star says the Marvel movie "will go down in history" for rejuvenating the MCU, "in the same way the Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther hit"
Ben Affleck in Air
Ben Affleck isn't in The Odyssey, but he plans to visit the set anyway to watch Christopher Nolan work: "He's one of the greatest filmmaking architects to ever live"
Ben Affleck in Zack Snyder's Justice League
Ben Affleck reflects on the "excruciating experience" playing Batman in the Zack Snyder movies: "A lot of it was misalignment of agendas, understandings, expectations"
Latest in News
Schedule 1
Schedule 1 is Steam's latest viral hit – an open-world drug dealing simulator with 98% positive reviews, co-op, and a free sample to get you started
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
Reclaiming their crown, pacifist Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 player beats the whole RPG as "Merciful Henry": 1,741 strikes blocked, 472 knockouts, and zero kills
Somehow this keeps happening: Another game with a Persona 5 collab is going under, and this time it's JRPG comrade War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius
Lies of P art showing P walking in a snowy forest
Lies of P director loves FromSoftware and respects the Soulslike tag, but says "I'm really serious, I'm not lying, I'm very truthful, our focus is to create our own style of game"
Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne
Daredevil: Born Again fans are loving the MCU cameos in this week's episodes – especially the Hawkeye reunion
Naoe and Yasuke walk in the sunset in a screenshot from Assassin's Creed Shadows
Following Assassin's Creed Shadows controversy, Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director says "every big AAA game could be better," but players shouldn't be mad "just because some dude told you to"