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Evelyn Laye (July 10, 1900 - February 17, 1996)
was a United Kingdom|British theater|theatre
actor|actress.

Born Elsie Evelyn Lay in Bloomsbury, London,
England, Laye made her first stage appearance in
1915, and for the first few years of her career
played mainly in musical comedy. Among her
successes during the 1920s were Madame Pompadour,
The Dollar Princess and Lilac Time.

She made her Broadway debut in 1929 in Noel
Coward's Bitter Sweet.

Married to the actor Sonnie Hale from 1926, Laye
received widespread public sympathy when Hale left
her for the actress Jessie Matthews in 1930.  She
continued acting in such productions as Sleeping
Beauty|The Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. 

She acted several times opposite her second
husband, the actor Frank Lawton.  Her other stage
successes included Silver Wedding (1957) with
Lawton,  and The Amorous Prawn (1959) and Phil the
Fluter (1969). 

Awarded an Order of the British Empire|OBE in
1973, Laye continued acting well into her
nineties.  Her acting career ranks as one of the
longest in British theatre.  During a tribute in
1992 at the London Palladium the actor John Mills
described her as "the fairest prima donna this
side of heaven".

She died in London from respiratory failure.