Thin-lipped, dark-haired British character actress, whose gallery of strong-minded women included nosy neighbours, snivelling sycophants and acidulous spinsters. Trained at RADA, she was primarily active on the English stage, with roles in "Grand Hotel" (1931) and "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1946), among many others. Over the years, she developed a fondness for comedic interpretations in plays by Noël Coward. On Broadway she appeared just once, in "Point Valaine" (1935), two years prior having made her screen debut as Katherine Parr in The Private Life of Henry VIII. (1933). Her two other memorable moments on screen saw her as the ever-prattling busybody Dolly Messiter in Brief Encounter (1945), and as Sarah Pocket, a fawning relative of Miss Faversham in Great Expectations (1946).