Skip to content
Elsa Lanchester

Personal Information

Known ForActing
GenderFemale
Born / DiedOct 28, 1902 (Died at 84)
Zodiac Sign♏Scorpio
Place of BirthLewisham, London, England, UK
Career Span1924 – 1986
Known Credits106 Titles
Official Links
ActingPopularity Score 1.4

Elsa Lanchester

Also known as:Elsa Sullivan LanchesterElizabeth Lanchester Sullivan
Total Works

106

74 movies • 32 shows

Avg Rating

6.6 / 10

across rated releases

Box Office

—

worldwide gross

Global Reach

#1

TMDB star index

Biography

Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (October 28, 1902 – December 26, 1986) was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television and former dancer. Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the First World War began performing in theatre and cabaret, where she established her career over the following decade. She met the actor Charles Laughton in 1927, and they were married two years later. She began playing small roles in British films, including the role of Anne of Cleves with Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). Laughton's success in American films resulted in the couple moving to Hollywood, where Lanchester played small film roles. Her role as the bride in Bride of Frankenstein (1935), brought her recognition, and came to be one of the roles most closely associated with her throughout her life. Lanchester played supporting roles through the 1940s and 1950s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Come to the Stable (1949) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957), the last of twelve films in which she appeared with Laughton. Following Laughton's death in 1962, Lanchester resumed her career with appearances in such Disney films as Mary Poppins (1964), That Darn Cat! (1965) and Blackbeard's Ghost (1968). The horror film, Willard, (1971) was highly successful and one of her last roles was in Murder By Death (1976). Description above from the Wikipedia article Elsa Lanchester, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Signature Roles & Milestones

Mary Poppins
7.5
Mary Poppins
1964•movie
as Katie Nanna
Witness for the Prosecution
8.2
as Miss Plimsoll
Bride of Frankenstein
7.5
as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate
Murder by Death
7.1
Murder by Death
1976•movie
as Jessica Marbles

Full Filmography & Credits

Showing 106 titles featuring Elsa Lanchester

Mary Poppins
7.5
Mary Poppins
1964•movie

as Katie Nanna

Witness for the Prosecution
8.2

as Miss Plimsoll

Bride of Frankenstein
7.5

as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate

Murder by Death
7.1
Murder by Death
1976•movie

as Jessica Marbles

The Bishop's Wife
7.1
The Bishop's Wife
1947•movie

as Matilda

The Spiral Staircase
7.0

as Mrs. Oates

I Love Lucy
7.9
1 eps
I Love Lucy
1951•series

as Edna Grundy

Bell, Book and Candle
6.6

as Aunt Queenie Holroyd

That Darn Cat!
6.6
That Darn Cat!
1965•movie

as Mrs. MacDougall

The Big Clock
7.3
The Big Clock
1948•movie

as Louise Patterson

Blackbeard's Ghost
6.7
Blackbeard's Ghost
1968•movie

as Emily Stowecroft

Lassie Come Home
6.7
Lassie Come Home
1943•movie

as Mrs. Helen Carraclough

Willard
6.1
Willard
1971•movie

as Henrietta Stiles

Night Gallery
7.8
1 eps
Night Gallery
1970•series
The Razor's Edge
6.9
The Razor's Edge
1946•movie

as Miss Keith

The Private Life of Henry VIII
6.4

as Anne of Cleves

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
7.6
2 eps
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
7.9
1 eps

as Aggie McGregor

David Copperfield
6.7
David Copperfield
1935•movie

as Clickett

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
7.2
1 eps

as Dr. Agnes Dabree

Mystery Street
6.8
Mystery Street
1950•movie

as Mrs. Smerrling

The Inspector General
6.6

as Maria

Mannix
6.9
1 eps
Mannix
1967•series

as Portia Penhaven

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
6.0

as Self (archive footage)

Easy Come, Easy Go
6.0
Easy Come, Easy Go
1967•movie

as Madame Neherina

Tales of Manhattan
6.5
Tales of Manhattan
1942•movie

as Mrs. Smith

The Ghost Goes West
6.7

as Miss Shepperton

Rembrandt
6.8
Rembrandt
1936•movie

as Hendrickje Stoffels

The American Nightmare
6.8

as Self

The Wonderful World of Disney
7.9
1 eps

as Mrs. Formby

Ladies in Retirement
6.5

as Emily Creed

The Secret Garden
7.1
The Secret Garden
1949•movie

as Martha

Here's Lucy
6.7
1 eps
Here's Lucy
1968•series

as Mumsie Westcott

Come to the Stable
6.8
Come to the Stable
1949•movie

as Amelia Potts

The Glass Slipper
6.2
The Glass Slipper
1955•movie

as Widow Sonder

Arnold
5.3
Arnold
1973•movie

as Hester

Terror in the Wax Museum
5.2

as Julia Hawthorn

Pajama Party
4.8
Pajama Party
1964•movie

as Aunt Wendy

Naughty Marietta
5.5
Naughty Marietta
1935•movie

as Madame d'Annard

Rascal
6.0
Rascal
1969•movie

as Mrs. Satterfield

3 Ring Circus
5.6
3 Ring Circus
1954•movie

as The Bearded Lady

Me, Natalie
5.6
Me, Natalie
1969•movie

as Miss Dennison

The Ed Sullivan Show
6.8
1 eps

as Self

The Dick Cavett Show
6.8
2 eps

as Self - Guest

Universal Horror
7.1
Universal Horror
1998•movie

as (archive footage)

Golden Globe Awards
7.0
1 eps
Golden Globe Awards
1944•series

as Self - Presenter

Hell's Half Acre
5.5
Hell's Half Acre
1954•movie

as Lida O'Reilly

Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake
7.2

as Bristol Isabel

Dreamboat
6.1
Dreamboat
1952•movie

as Mathilda Coffey

The Bill Cosby Show
5.5
2 eps
The Bill Cosby Show
1969•series

as Mrs. Wochuk

Les Miserables
5.5
Les Miserables
1952•movie

as Madame Magloire

Buccaneer's Girl
5.8
Buccaneer's Girl
1950•movie

as Madame Brizar

Androcles and the Lion
5.9

as Megaera

My Dog, the Thief
6.8
My Dog, the Thief
1969•movie

as Mrs. Formby

Ben Casey
5.9
1 eps
Ben Casey
1961•series
Forever and a Day
7.5
Forever and a Day
1943•movie

as Mamie

Studio One
5.4
1 eps
Studio One
1948•series

as Jenny Pratt

Frenchie
6.0
Frenchie
1950•movie

as Countess

Burke's Law
6.2
1 eps
Burke's Law
1963•series

as Mrs. Ormsby

The Merv Griffin Show
6.8
3 eps

as Self

Vessel of Wrath
6.9
Vessel of Wrath
1938•movie

as Martha Jones

Nanny and the Professor
6.7
3 eps

as Aunt Henrietta

Passport to Destiny
5.3

as Ella Muggins

The 20th Century Fox Hour
6.0
1 eps
Honeymoon Hotel
4.6
Honeymoon Hotel
1964•movie

as Chambermaid

Die Laughing
4.6
Die Laughing
1980•movie

as Sophie

The Petty Girl
4.3
The Petty Girl
1950•movie

as Dr. Crutcher

Hallmark Hall of Fame
8.8
1 eps

as Red Queen

Robert Montgomery Presents
6.0
1 eps
Lux Video Theatre
6.7
1 eps
Lux Video Theatre
1950•series

as Emily

Adventures in Paradise
6.1
1 eps

as Miss Creshaw

The Girls of Pleasure Island
5.8

as Thelma

Mondo Hollywood
6.7
Mondo Hollywood
1967•movie
General Electric Theater
6.8
1 eps

as Hanna Winters

Shirley Temple's Storybook
6.5
1 eps

as Mother Goose

Tonight Starring Jack Paar
7.5
1 eps

as Self

Alice in Wonderland
5.2

as Red Queen

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
7.2
1 eps

as Betsey Monk, the Widow

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
6.4
1 eps

as Self

Then Came Bronson
5.2
1 eps
Then Came Bronson
1969•series

as Hattie Calter

Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film
7.5

as Mary Shelley / The Monster's Mate (archive footage)

The Ford Television Theatre
7.8
1 eps

as Rosie Bowker

Omnibus
7.0
1 eps
Omnibus
1952•series
Startime
6.8
1 eps
Startime
1959•series

as Self

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
7.0

as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Blue Bottles
7.3
Blue Bottles
1928•movie

as Elsa

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
6.3
Commercial Entertainment Product
8.7

as The Monster's Bride

Thumbs Up
7.0
Thumbs Up
1943•movie

as Emily "Emmy" Ffinch

The Tonic
8.5
The Tonic
1928•movie

as Elsa

Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman
9.0

as Self (archive footage)

Follow the Sun
8.0
1 eps
Follow the Sun
1961•series
In Name Only
7.0
In Name Only
1969•movie

as Gertrude Caruso

The Love Habit
8.0
The Love Habit
1931•movie

as Matilde

The Constant Nymph
10.0
The Constant Nymph
1928•movie

as Lady

Daydreams
9.0
Daydreams
1928•movie

as Elsa / Heroine in Dream Sequence

Comets
7.0
Comets
1930•movie

as Herself

Potiphar's Wife
8.0
Potiphar's Wife
1931•movie

as Thérèse

The Stronger Sex
10.0
The Stronger Sex
1931•movie

as Thompson

Northwest Outpost
8.0
Northwest Outpost
1947•movie

as Princess 'Tanya' Tatiana

The Scarlet Woman: An Ecclesiastical Melodrama

as Beatrice de Carolle

Noah and the Flood
Noah and the Flood
1962•movie

as Noah's wife

Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies

as (archive footage) (uncredited)

Heidi
Heidi
1955•movie

as Fräulein Rottenmeier

Charmed Lives: A Family Romance

as Self (archive footage)