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Cathleen Nesbitt, CBE, born on  (November 24, 1888
– and died on August 2, 1982) was an United
Kingdom|British actor|actress of Wales|Welsh and
Irish people|Irish extraction.

Born in Cheshire, England, she was educated in
Lisieux, France and attended Queen's University,
Belfast|Queen's University in Belfast, and studied
at the University of Paris|Sorbonne in Paris,
France. Her younger brother, Thomas Nesbitt, Jr.,
acted in one film in 1925, before his death in
South Africa in 1927 from an apparent heart
attack.

Her debut on the London theatre|stage was in the
revival of Arthur Wing Pinero|Pinero's The Cabinet
Minister (1910). She acted in countless stage
play|plays after that.

In 1911, Nesbitt joined the Irish Players, went to
the United States|America and debuted on Broadway
theatre|Broadway in The Well of the Saints. She
also was in the cast of Synge's The Playboy of the
Western World with the Players when the whole cast
was pelted with fruits and vegetables by the
offended Irish American Catholic audience. She
became the love of English poetry|English poet
Rupert Brooke in 1912, to whom he wrote great love
sonnets. They were engaged when he died during
World War I. Nesbitt returned to the U.S. and
appeared on Broadway in Quinneys (1915). After
five other plays there, she returned to England.

Her film debut was in the silent film|silent A
Star Over Night (1919 in film|1919). She then
performed in The Faithful Heart (1922 in
film|1922). She did not appear in a film again
until 1930 in film|1930, when she played the role
of Anne Lymes in Canaries Sometimes Sing, which
was a sound film|talkie.

She had one husband, actor Cecil Ramage (they
married in 1920 and remained legally married until
Nesbitt's death in 1982), but were separated for
many years. They had two children, one being
Jennifer Ramage (born September 24, 1928).

Nesbitt's first Hollywood, California|Hollywood
film was Three Coins in the Fountain (movie)|Three
Coins in the Fountain (1954 in film|1954), in
which she played the character role of La
Principessa. This was followed that same year by
Black Widow (1954 movie)|Black Widow, in which she
played a maid named Lucia Colletti.

Her other Broadway productions included Gigi (1951
play)|Gigi (1951) starring Audrey Hepburn, Sabrina
Fair (1953) starring Joseph Cotten and Margaret
Sullavan, and Anastasia (1954 play)|Anastasia
(1954). In 1956, she played Mrs. Higgins in the
hit My Fair Lady starring Julie Andrews and Rex
Harrison. Nesbitt, amazingly, played the role
again in 1981!! in a Broadway revival of My Fair
Lady again starring the now-deceased actor, Sir
Rex Harrison.

She is probably best-remembered for her role as
Agatha Morley on the television program|TV series
The Farmer's Daughter from 1963 in television|1963
to 1966 in television|1966, playing the mother of
the Congressman. She guest starred on such shows
as The United States Steel Hour; Wagon Train;
Naked City, Dr. Kildare and Upstairs, Downstairs.

Nesbitt won an Emmy Award for her work in the TV
drama The Mask of Love in 1974 in television|1974.

Nesbitt lived for many years in the United States,
and considered taking out U.S. citizenship, but
ultimately returned to the U.K., where she was
awarded the C.B.E., but many think she should have
been knighted as a Dame.

Her autobiography, A Little Love and Good Company,
was published in 1973 in literature|1973.

She played the film role of a drug addict in The
French Connection II (1975 in film|1975). Her next
film was Alfred Hitchcock|Hitchcock's Family Plot
(1976 in film|1976), in which she played Julia
Rainbird. She then appeared as the grandmother in
Julia (movie)|Julia (1977 in film|1977). Her final
film was Never Never Land (1980 movie)|Never Never
Land (1980 in film|1980), in which she played
Edith Forbes.

After a career spanning over eighty years, one of
the longest in show business history, Cathleen
Nesbitt died at age ninety-three in London.

==External links==
*imdb name|id=0626350|name=Cathleen Nesbitt
*ibdb name|id=54399|name=Cathleen Nesbitt