
Person
Mary Forbes
Acting · 1882–1974 · Hornsey, Middlesex [now in Haringey, London], England, UK
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mary Forbes (1 January 1883 – 22 July 1974), born Ethel Louise Young, was a British-American film actress, based in the United States in her latter years, where she died. She appeared in more than 130 films between 1919 and 1958. Forbes was born in Hornsey, England. She made her first public appearance on the concert platform giving recitals. Her acting debut was in 1908 on the London stage at Aldwych Theatre. Her American stage debut came in Romance at Maxine Elliott's Theatre in 1913. She took over management of the Ambassadors Theatre in 1913 and had several years experience on stage in Britain and America before her appearances in Hollywood films. Two of her three children by her first marriage in the first quarter of 1904 to Ernest J. Taylor, Ralph and Dorothy Brenda, known as Brenda, were also actors. The middle child of the three, Phyllis Mary Taylor, was not in the acting business. Her second husband was British actor Charles Quartermaine, who married in 1925; the union ended in divorce. She married her third husband, Wesley Wall, an American businessman, in 1935; the couple remained married until her death in 1974. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1943, with one of her character references being Lucile Webster Gleason, actress and wife of actor James Gleason.
Known for

Suspicion
Mrs. Merton

Jane Eyre
Mrs. Eshton

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Mrs. Herbert Winthrop

You Can't Take It with You
Mrs. Anthony Kirby

The Picture of Dorian Gray
Lady Agatha

A Farewell to Arms
Miss Van Campen

Terror by Night
Lady Margaret Carstairs

Ninotchka
Lady Lavenham (uncredited)

Another Dawn
Mrs. Lydia Benton

The Awful Truth
Mrs. Vance
Filmography
- 1958HouseboatBritish Society Woman (uncredited)
- 1957SuspicionMrs. Merton
- 1955Alfred Hitchcock PresentsMrs. Herbert Winthrop
- 1952Les MiserablesNun (uncredited)
- 1948You Gotta Stay HappyAunt Martha
- 1948The Black ArrowNun (uncredited)
- 1947The Judge Steps OutMargaret (uncredited)
- 1947It Had to Be YouMrs. Kimberly (uncredited)
- 1947The ExileSecond Court Lady
- 1947IvyLady Crail (uncredited)
- 1947Cigarette GirlMrs. Halstead
- 1946Terror by NightLady Margaret Carstairs
- 1945Lady on a Train
- 1945Earl Carroll VanitiesQueen Mother Elena
- 1945I'll Remember AprilMrs. Barrington
- 1945The Picture of Dorian GrayLady Agatha
- 1944Tender ComradeJo's Mother (uncredited)
- 1943Jane EyreMrs. Eshton
- 1943Dangerous BlondesIsabel Fleming (uncredited)
- 1943Mr. LuckyWar Relief Worker (uncredited)
- 1943Two Tickets to LondonDame Dunne Hartley
- 1943Sherlock Holmes in WashingtonMrs. Pettibone
- 1942The Great ImpersonationLady Leslie Clayfair
- 1942Almost MarriedMrs. Marvin
- 1942This Above AllVicar's Wife
- 1942Twin Beds
- 1942Klondike FuryMrs. Langton
- 1941Nothing but the TruthMrs. Ralston
- 1941Back StreetMrs. Williams
- 1940South of SuezMrs. Putnam
- 1940All This, and Heaven TooLady at the Theatre (uncredited)
- 1940Private AffairsMrs. Stanley
- 1940Blame It on LoveMrs. Wadsworth
- 1940FlorianGrandmother
- 1940LaddieMrs. Anna Pryor
- 1939NinotchkaLady Lavenham (uncredited)
- 1939Hollywood CavalcadeMrs. Gaynes
- 1939The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesLady Conyngham
- 1939These Glamour GirlsMrs. Van Reichton (uncredited)
- 1939I Stole a MillionFlower Shop Customer (uncredited)
- 1939The Sun Never SetsMrs. Randolph
- 1939Outside These WallsGertrude Bishop
- 1939Three Smart Girls Grow UpMrs. Withers
- 1939The Ice Follies of 1939Lady Hilda (uncredited)
- 1939Risky BusinessMrs. Jameson
- 1939You Can't Cheat an Honest ManMrs. Bel-Goodie
- 1939Fast and LooseMrs. Torrent
- 1938Three Loves Has NancyMrs. Hanson
- 1938You Can't Take It with YouMrs. Anthony Kirby
- 1938Always GoodbyeAunt Martha Marshall
- 1938The Rage of ParisWoman in Opera Box (uncredited)
- 1938Outside of ParadiseMrs. Stonewall
- 1938Everybody SingMiss Colvin
- 1938What Do You Think? (Number Three)Mrs. Dosier - John's Mother (uncredited)
- 1937The Awful TruthMrs. Vance
- 1937Stage DoorCast of Stage Play
- 1937One Hundred Men and a GirlConcert Hall Patron
- 1937The Life of the PartyMrs. Saunders
- 1937Wee Willie WinkieMrs. MacMonachie
- 1937Another DawnMrs. Lydia Benton
- 1937Women of GlamourMrs. Stark
- 1936Theodora Goes WildMrs. Wyatt (uncredited)
- 1936Wedding PresentMrs. Dodacker
- 1936The White AngelLady Disapproving of Florence #1 (uncredited)
- 1935Captain BloodMrs. Steed
- 1935The Widow from Monte CarloLady Holloway
- 1935The Perfect GentlemanLady Clyffe-Pembrook
- 1935RendezvousLady Cavendish (uncredited)
- 1935Anna KareninaPrincess Sorokina
- 1935StrandedGrace Dean (uncredited)
- 1935Dizzy DamesMrs. Stokes
- 1935Les MisérablesMlle. Baptiseme
- 1935LaddieMrs. Anna Pryor
- 1935Roberta(uncredited)
- 1934We Live AgainMrs. Kortchagin
- 1934Happiness AheadMrs. Travis
- 1934Two Heads on a PillowMrs. Caroline Devonshire
- 1934A Lost LadyMrs. Hardy (uncredited)
- 1934British AgentLady Catherine Trehearne
- 1934She Was a LadyLady Diana Vane
- 1934Blind DateMrs. Hartwell
- 1934ShockLady Heatherly
- 1934Most Precious Thing in LifeMrs. Kelsey
- 1934Sadie McKeeMrs. Alderson (uncredited)
- 1934You Can't Buy EverythingKate Farley
- 1933BombshellMrs. Middleton
- 1933CavalcadeDuchess of Churt (uncredited)
- 1932A Farewell to ArmsMiss Van Campen
- 1932Vanity FairMrs. Sedley
- 1932The Silent WitnessLady Howard
- 1931Working GirlsMrs. Johnstone
- 1931The BratMrs. Forester
- 1931ChancesMrs. Ingleside
- 1931Born to LoveThe Duchess (uncredited)
- 1931The Man Who Came BackMrs. Gaynes
- 1930The Devil to Pay!Mrs. Hope (uncredited)
- 1930Abraham LincolnActress (uncredited)
- 1930East Is WestMrs. Benson
- 1930HolidayMrs. Pritchard Ames (uncredited)
- 1930So This Is LondonLady Worthing
- 1930Strictly UnconventionalMrs. Anna Shenstone
- 1929Sunny Side UpMrs. Cromwell
- 1929The TrespasserMrs. Ferguson
- 1929The Thirteenth ChairLady Alice Crosby
- 1929Her Private LifeLadu Wildering
- 1919Women Who Win
- 1919The Lady ClareLady Julia Medwin
- 1918The Woman's PortionLizzie
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