Mary Forbes

Mary Forbes

Known For

You Can't Take It with You

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.

Movies Featuring Mary Forbes

Houseboat

Houseboat (1958)

as British Society Woman (uncredited)
Les Miserables

Les Miserables (1952)

as Nun (uncredited)
The Black Arrow

The Black Arrow (1948)

as Nun (uncredited)
The Judge Steps Out

The Judge Steps Out (1947)

as Margaret (uncredited)
It Had to Be You

It Had to Be You (1947)

as Mrs. Kimberly (uncredited)
The Exile

The Exile (1947)

as Second Court Lady
Ivy

Ivy (1947)

as Lady Crail (uncredited)
Cigarette Girl

Cigarette Girl (1947)

as Mrs. Halstead
Terror by Night

Terror by Night (1946)

as Lady Margaret Carstairs
Earl Carroll Vanities

Earl Carroll Vanities (1945)

as Queen Mother Elena
Tender Comrade

Tender Comrade (1944)

as Jo's Mother (uncredited)
Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre (1943)

as Mrs. Eshton
Dangerous Blondes

Dangerous Blondes (1943)

as Isabel Fleming (uncredited)
Mr. Lucky

Mr. Lucky (1943)

as War Relief Worker (uncredited)
Two Tickets to London

Two Tickets to London (1943)

as Dame Dunne Hartley
The Great Impersonation

The Great Impersonation (1942)

as Lady Leslie Clayfair
Back Street

Back Street (1941)

as Mrs. Williams
All This, and Heaven Too

All This, and Heaven Too (1940)

as Lady at the Theatre (uncredited)
Florian

Florian (1940)

as Grandmother
Laddie

Laddie (1940)

as Mrs. Anna Pryor
Ninotchka

Ninotchka (1939)

as Lady Lavenham (uncredited)
These Glamour Girls

These Glamour Girls (1939)

as Mrs. Van Reichton (uncredited)
I Stole a Million

I Stole a Million (1939)

as Flower Shop Customer (uncredited)
The Ice Follies of 1939

The Ice Follies of 1939 (1939)

as Lady Hilda (uncredited)
You Can't Take It with You

You Can't Take It with You (1938)

as Mrs. Anthony P. Kirby
Always Goodbye

Always Goodbye (1938)

as Aunt Martha Marshall
The Rage of Paris

The Rage of Paris (1938)

as Woman in Opera Box (uncredited)
What Do You Think? (Number Three)

What Do You Think? (Number Three) (1938)

as Mrs. Dosier - John's Mother (uncredited)
Stage Door

Stage Door (1937)

as Cast of Stage Play
Wee Willie Winkie

Wee Willie Winkie (1937)

as Mrs. MacMonachie
Another Dawn

Another Dawn (1937)

as Mrs. Lydia Benton
Theodora Goes Wild

Theodora Goes Wild (1936)

as Mrs. Wyatt (uncredited)
The White Angel

The White Angel (1936)

as Lady Disapproving of Florence #1 (uncredited)
The Perfect Gentleman

The Perfect Gentleman (1935)

as Lady Clyffe-Pembrook
Rendezvous

Rendezvous (1935)

as Lady Cavendish (uncredited)
Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina (1935)

as Princess Sorokina
Stranded

Stranded (1935)

as Grace Dean (uncredited)
Dizzy Dames

Dizzy Dames (1935)

as Mrs. Stokes
Les Misérables

Les Misérables (1935)

as Mlle. Baptiseme
Laddie

Laddie (1935)

as Mrs. Anna Pryor
Roberta

Roberta (1935)

as (uncredited)
We Live Again

We Live Again (1934)

as Mrs. Kortchagin
Two Heads on a Pillow

Two Heads on a Pillow (1934)

as Mrs. Caroline Devonshire
A Lost Lady

A Lost Lady (1934)

as Mrs. Hardy (uncredited)
British Agent

British Agent (1934)

as Lady Catherine Trehearne
She Was a Lady

She Was a Lady (1934)

as Lady Diana Vane
Blind Date

Blind Date (1934)

as Mrs. Hartwell
Shock

Shock (1934)

as Lady Heatherly
Sadie McKee

Sadie McKee (1934)

as Mrs. Alderson (uncredited)
Bombshell

Bombshell (1933)

as Mrs. Middleton
Cavalcade

Cavalcade (1933)

as Duchess of Churt (uncredited)
Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair (1932)

as Mrs. Sedley
Working Girls

Working Girls (1931)

as Mrs. Johnstone
The Brat

The Brat (1931)

as Mrs. Forester
Chances

Chances (1931)

as Mrs. Ingleside
Born to Love

Born to Love (1931)

as The Duchess (uncredited)
The Devil to Pay!

The Devil to Pay! (1930)

as Mrs. Hope (uncredited)
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln (1930)

as Actress (uncredited)
Holiday

Holiday (1930)

as Mrs. Pritchard Ames (uncredited)
Strictly Unconventional

Strictly Unconventional (1930)

as Mrs. Anna Shenstone
Sunny Side Up

Sunny Side Up (1929)

as Mrs. Cromwell
The Trespasser

The Trespasser (1929)

as Mrs. Ferguson
The Thirteenth Chair

The Thirteenth Chair (1929)

as Lady Alice Crosby
The Lady Clare

The Lady Clare (1919)

as Lady Julia Medwin