Gladys Cooper

Gladys Cooper played Professor Henry Higgins's mother in the Hallmark Hall of Fame television version of Pygmalion (1951) and in the film version of the musical My Fair Lady (1964).

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Gladys Cooper appeared in five films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture: Rebecca (1940), Kitty Foyle (1940), The Song of Bernadette (1943), Separate Tables (1958) and My Fair Lady (1964). Of these, Rebecca (1940) and My Fair Lady (1964) won the award.

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For her services to drama, Gladys Cooper was appointed DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1967 Queen's Birthday Honours.

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Gladys Cooper wrote the autobiography 'Without Veils'.

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In Rebecca (1940) Gladys Cooper played Laurence Olivier's sister, and in That Hamilton Woman (1941) she played his wife.

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Gladys Cooper did not begin her Hollywood career until she was 52, with the 1940 film Rebecca.

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Gladys Cooper was the grandmother of the writer, critic and entertainer Sheridan Morley, Annabel Morley, Wilton Morley, Emma Hardy and Justine Hardy.

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Gladys Cooper was Robert Morley's mother-in-law.

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A memorial service for Gladys Cooper was held on 18 December 1971 at St Paul's Church, Covent Garden.

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Gladys Cooper appeared in two films that won the Academy Award for Best Picture: Rebecca (1940) and My Fair Lady (1964).

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With Herbert Buckmaster, Gladys Cooper was the mother of the actors Joan Buckmaster and John Buckmaster.

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With Sir Neville Pearson, Gladys Cooper was the mother of the costume designer Sally Pearson.

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Gladys Cooper was Robert Hardy's former mother-in-law.

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The celebrated English novelist and poet Stevie Smith was secretary to Gladys Cooper's second husband, Sir Neville Pearson.

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Early in her career, Gladys Cooper was chosen as the most beautiful girl in the world.

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Gladys Cooper was the daughter of Charles Cooper (1844-1939) and Mabel Cooper (née Barnett) (1861-1944).

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Gladys Cooper is one of 27 actors nominated for an Oscar for a performance in a musical; hers was for My Fair Lady (1964). The others, in chronological order, are: Bessie Love (The Broadway Melody (1929)), Grace Moore (One Night of Love (1934)), Jean Hagen (Singin' in the Rain (1952)), Marjorie Rambeau (The Song of Bernadette (1953)), Dorothy Dandridge (Carmen Jones (1954)), Deborah Kerr (The King and I (1956)), Rita Moreno (West Side Story (1961)), Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins (1964), The Sound of Music (1965) and Victor/Victoria (1982)), Debbie Reynolds (The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)), Peggy Wood (The Sound of Music (1965)), Carol Channing (Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)), Kay Medford (Funny Girl (1968)), Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl (1968)), Liza Minnelli (Cabaret (1972)), Ronee Blakley (Nashville (1975)), Lily Tomlin (Nashville (1975)), Ann-Margret (Tommy (1975)), Lesley Ann Warren (Victor/Victoria (1982)), Amy Irving (Yentl (1983)), Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge! (2001)), Queen Latifah (Chicago (2002)), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago (2002)), Renée Zellweger (Chicago (2002)), Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls (2006)), Penélope Cruz (Nine (2009)), Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables (2012)), Meryl Streep (Into the Woods (2014)) and Emma Stone (La La Land (2016)).

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Gladys Cooper wrote her autobiography, Without Veils.

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Gladys Cooper first took to the stage in December 1905 at the Theatre Royal Colchester.

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Robert Morley and Robert Hardy were her sons.

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She was the stepmother of John Merivale.

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She lived in Henley-on-Thames.

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In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by Giovanna Scotto or Tina Lattanzi. In the much-loved My Fair Lady (1964), she was occasionally dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta, Lola Braccini and Wanda Tettoni.

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