Born Mary Whitty on June 19, 1865, to a Liverpool newspaper editor and his wife, she became known as May Whitty to the world. She first stepped onto the London stage in 1882 at which she worked as an understudy at the St. James Theatre and then began playing leading roles when she joined a traveling stock company.
After nearly 25 years as one of Britain's leading stage actresses, she appeared in her first film,
Enoch Arden (1914), in Great Britain.
She did not care much for the experience and appeared in only a few silent films afterward.
In 1918, based on her service to the arts and for performing for the troops during World War I, she was named as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by King George V.
After a string of 1930s Broadway successes, she went to Hollywood, following the example of many of her British contemporaries.
She found herself usually cast in highborn roles, sometimes crotchety, sometimes imperious, however often warmhearted.
Classic examples of these were the crotchety Mrs. Bramson, an invalid who falls for the homicidal
Robert Montgomery, in
Night Must Fall (1937); Miss Froy\ in
The Lady Vanishes (1938), wherein she plays the title character, enduring great physical exertion while maintaining her poise and dignity; and Lady Beldon in
Mrs. Miniver (1942), a role which garnered her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
She proved herself equally capable of playing working-class roles, such as the dowdy phony psychic in
The Thirteenth Chair (1937).
Besides two Oscar nominations, she also won the National Board of Review best acting award for the 1937 film
Night Must Fall (1937).
In 1892, she married London producer Ben Webster.
They were the parents of a daughter,
Margaret Webster, who became a playwright and actress in her own right.
Margaret penned her mother's biography, The Same Only Different, published in 1969.
Whitty died at the age of 82 as the result of cancer in Beverly Hills shortly after completing her scenes in the film
The Sign of the Ram (1948).
She once said, "I've got everything Betty Grable has ... only I've had it longer."
The Return of October(1948)as Aunt Martha Grant
The Sign of the Ram(1948)as Clara Brastock
If Winter Comes(1947)as Mrs. Perch
This Time for Keeps(1947)as Grandmother Cambaretti
Green Dolphin Street(1947)as Mother Superior
Compression(1995)as Self
Living Famously(2002)as Miss Froy (clip from The Lady Vanishes (1938))
Best of British(1987)as Self
