Constance Collier Biography

Fast Facts

• Played the lead role in W․ Somerset Maugham's "Our Betters," which broke the record for longest run in the West End with 548 performances
• At the age of 15 she joined the Gaiety Girls, a dance troupe that performed at London's Gaiety Theatre
• Made her stage debut as Fairy Peasblossom in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" when she was only 3 years old
• Began appearing in leading stage roles in 1901, when the actor Sir Henry Beerbohm Tree invited her to join his company at His Majesty's Theatre in London
• Best known as a stage and film actress who appeared "Rope," "Stage Door," and "The Perils of Pauline․"
• When talking films became popular, she was asked to train many of Hollywood's silent stars to speak, including Colleen More
• Frequently starred opposite Sir Henry Beerbohm Tree on the stage, playing the Nancy to his Fagin in "Oliver Twist" and the Cleopatra to his Marc Antony in "Antony and Cleopatra․"
• Adapted the George Du Maurier novel "Peter Ibbetson" for the stage and produced and directed the production as well as playing the role of the Duchess of Towers
• During her later career as an acting coach, she gave lessons to many future stars, including Marilyn Monroe, whom she described as "a hummingbird in flight" whose talent could only be caught on camera