Wendy Hiller

Lore & Background

Wendy Hiller was born in Bramhall, Cheshire, the daughter of a Manchester cotton manufacturer. She was educated at Winceby House School for Girls and Oriel Bank High School, and at age 18 joined the Manchester Repertory Company, acting and stage-managing for several years. She first found success as slum dweller Sally Hardcastle in the stage version of Love on the Dole in 1934, which toured Britain and led to her West End debut in 1935. In 1937, she married the play's author Ronald Gow, and made her film debut that same year in Lancashire Luck, scripted by Gow.

The huge popularity of Love on the Dole took the production to New York in 1936, where Hiller's performance attracted the attention of George Bernard Shaw. Shaw cast her in several of his plays, including Saint Joan, Pygmalion and Major Barbara, and she was reputed to be his favourite actress of the time. She excelled at rather plain but strong-willed characters. In 1947, she originated the role of Catherine Sloper in The Heiress on Broadway, which proved to be her greatest triumph on Broadway. Her stage work remained a priority throughout her career, with notable performances in Waters of the Moon, Flowering Cherry, and A Moon for the Misbegotten, which earned her a Tony Award nomination.

At Shaw's insistence, she starred as Eliza Doolittle in the film Pygmalion (1938), earning her first Oscar nomination and becoming one of her best-remembered roles. She was the first actress to utter the word 'bloody' in a British film. Despite early film success and offers from Hollywood, she returned to the stage full-time after 1945 and only occasionally accepted film roles. She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Separate Tables (1958) and received a third Oscar nomination for A Man for All Seasons (1966). Her role in Murder on the Orient Express (1974) won her international acclaim and the Evening Standard British Film Award as Best Actress.

Reader's Guide

Wendy Hiller's significance lies in her dual mastery of stage and screen, though she deliberately prioritized theatre over film stardom. Her career was shaped by George Bernard Shaw, who recognized her spirited radiance and cast her in his plays, making her his favourite actress of the time. She earned three Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actress for Separate Tables, and was nominated for two BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Tony Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award. Her legacy includes originating the role of Catherine Sloper in The Heiress on Broadway and delivering memorable performances in films such as Pygmalion, A Man for All Seasons, and Murder on the Orient Express. She remained uncompromising in her indifference to film stardom, as evidenced by her reaction to her Oscar win: 'Never mind the honour, cold hard cash is what it means to me.' Her work in both London and New York earned popular and critical acclaim, and she demonstrated a strong affinity for the plays of Henrik Ibsen later in her career.

Did You Know?

• She was the first actress to utter the word 'bloody' in a British film, in Pygmalion (1938).
• She was reputed to be George Bernard Shaw's favourite actress of the time.
• She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Separate Tables (1958).
• She was scheduled to return to the American stage in a 1982 revival of Anastasia with Natalie Wood, but Wood died just weeks before rehearsals.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller (15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was an English film and stage actress whose performing career spanned nearly 60 years." — Wendy Hiller "I was afraid that if I went to Hollywood, I might be faced with the danger of being built up into a player who always features in the same kind of roles." — Wendy Hiller "[1] Wendy share her feelings about role in 1938." — Wendy Hiller "I sometimes think to myself, in the middle of doing G.B.S., What on Earth am I doing? It's not like acting another writer's words." — Wendy Hiller