ACTOR
Jessica Tandy
- Known for
- *batteries not included (1987), Nobody's Fool (1994), The Bostonians (1984), Used People (1992)
25 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Jessica Tandy is an actor best known for *batteries not included, Nobody's Fool and The Bostonians.
All facts (25)
- #001
She was the oldest person to win an acting Oscar until Christopher Plummer won at age 82 for Beginners (2010); she had won Best Actress at age 80.
- #002
1974: She received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario.
- #003
At age 80, she was the oldest person to win the Best Actress Oscar, for her role as Daisy Werthan in Driving Miss Daisy (1989).
- #004
She is one of 17 actresses to have won the Triple Crown of Acting (an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony); the others, in chronological order, are Helen Hayes, Ingrid Bergman, Shirley Booth, Liza Minnelli, Rita Moreno, Maureen Stapleton, Audrey Hepburn, Anne Bancroft, Vanessa Redgrave, Maggie Smith, Ellen Burstyn, Helen Mirren, Frances McDormand, Jessica Lange, Viola Davis and Glenda Jackson.
- #005
She was the mother of Susan Hawkins, Jack Hawkins and Tandy Cronyn, and the mother, with Hume Cronyn, of Christopher Cronyn. She was the grandmother of actress Katherine Cronyn.
- #006
On 8 February 1960, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6284 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
- #007
1990: She was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by People magazine.
- #008
She appeared with Tippi Hedren in The Birds (1963) and later with Hedren's daughter, Melanie Griffith, in Nobody's Fool (1994).
- #009
She was educated at Dame Alice Owen's School in Potter's Bar, Hertfordshire, England.
- #010
In May 1954 she became pregnant by her husband Hume Cronyn, but in June 1954, only a week before the premiere of their television series The Marriage (1954), she suffered a miscarriage.
- #011
1990: She was diagnosed with cancer.
- #012
She was the 100th actor to win an Oscar; on 26 March 1990, at the 62nd Annual Academy Awards (1990), she won the Best Actress Oscar for Driving Miss Daisy (1989).
- #013
She originated the role of Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire alongside Marlon Brando.
- #014
Through her daughter Susan Hawkins and her husband John Tettemer, she was the grandmother of Heather (born 12 June 1957), Holly (born 12 March 1959), John (born 11 April 1961) and Wendy (born 10 May 1967).
- #015
She played the role of Liz Marriott on NBC Radio's "The Marriage" (1953-1954), alongside her husband Hume Cronyn.
- #016
She was the daughter of Harry Tandy (1867-1922), born in Stepney, London, and Jessie Tandy (née Horspool, 1878-1961), born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
- #017
She was the younger sister of Arthur Harry (1903-1964) and Edward James Tandy (1908-1974).
- #018
She shares some similarities with actress Eva Le Gallienne. Both were born in England but built their careers in the United States, and both received their first Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category at age 82.
- #019
Jessica Tandy and her husband Hume Cronyn are among the few married couples to have won Tony Awards. Hume was nominated seven times and won in 1964 for "Hamlet" (Featured Actor in a Play). Jessica was nominated five times and won three: in 1948 for "A Streetcar Named Desire"; in 1978 for "The Gin Game"; and in 1983 for "Foxfire". All three of her wins were for Best Actress in a Play. Jessica and Hume were both nominated in their respective categories for the same production twice: "The Gin Game" and "The Petition" (1986). These were the last nominations for both of them.
- #020
She was honored with the 1985 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Performance in a Leading Role for the play "Foxfire" at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
- #021
She was raised in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, by her mother Jessie and her grandparents John (1829-1895) and Martha (née Colborn) Horspool (1830-1892).
- #022
She was suffering from cancer when she began filming Fried Green Tomatoes.
- #023
She is one of 24 actors who have won an Oscar for a comedic performance; hers was for Driving Miss Daisy (1989). The others, in chronological order, are: Claudette Colbert (It Happened One Night (1934)), Loretta Young (The Farmer's Daughter (1947)), Josephine Hull (Harvey (1950)), Judy Holliday (Born Yesterday (1950)), Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday (1953)), Goldie Hawn (Cactus Flower (1969)), Glenda Jackson (A Touch of Class (1973)), Lee Grant (Shampoo (1975)), Diane Keaton (Annie Hall (1977)), Maggie Smith (California Suite (1978)), Mary Steenburgen (Melvin and Howard (1980)), Jessica Lange (Tootsie (1982)), Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck (1987)), Cher (Moonstruck (1987)), Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King (1991)), Dianne Wiest (Bullets over Broadway (1994)), Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny (1992)), Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite (1995)), Frances McDormand (Fargo (1996)), Helen Hunt (As Good as It Gets (1997)), Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love (1998)), Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love (1998)), Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)) and Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook (2012)).
- #024
She is one of 15 actresses to have won both the Best Actress Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for the same performance; she won them for Driving Miss Daisy (1989). The others, in chronological order, are: Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday (1950), Julie Andrews for Mary Poppins (1964), Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl (1968), Liza Minnelli for Cabaret (1972), Glenda Jackson for A Touch of Class (1973), Diane Keaton for Annie Hall (1977), Sissy Spacek for Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), Cher for Moonstruck (1987), Helen Hunt for As Good as It Gets (1997), Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love (1998), Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005), Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose (2007), Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and Emma Stone for La La Land (2016).
- #025
She beat ovarian cancer at the age of 82, but sadly the disease returned a year later.
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