Murder, She Wrote star Angela Lansbury dies aged 96

By Connie Evans, PA Entertainment Reporter

Dame Angela Lansbury has died at the age of 96, her family has announced.

The Irish-British and American actress was best known for her portrayal of Jessica Fletcher in American drama series Murder, She Wrote.

According to a family statement cited by the AP news agency, Dame Angela died in her sleep five days before her 97th birthday.

With a career spanning more than eight decades, Dame Angela was a three-time Oscar nominee and five-time Tony Award winner.

She was born in London in 1925 and later moved to the US to avoid the Blitz.

Dame Angela’s first film role was in George Cukor’s Gaslight as a young maid named Nancy Oliver who worked in the home of the film’s protagonist Paula Alquist, played by Ingrid Bergman.

The then-19-year-old Dame Angela received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her role in the 1944 film.

Dame Angela garnered a great deal of recognition and is perhaps best known for her portrayal of novelist and sleuth Jessica – a retired school teacher from the fictional town of Cabot Cove who became a successful detective novelist after her husband’s death.

In 2013, Dame Angela was given an honorary Academy Award for her lifetime achievements in the film industry.

In 2002, she was awarded a lifetime achievement award by Bafta and also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.