Mary Astor

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Mary Astor and Bette Davis in The Great Lie

Mary Astor

American actress

Also known as: Lucille Vasconcellos Langhanke

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Quick Facts

Original name:: Lucille Vasconcellos Langhanke

Born:: May 3, 1906, Quincy, Ill., U.S.

Died:: September 25, 1987, Woodland Hills, Calif. (aged 81)

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (1942); Academy Award (1942): Actress in a Supporting Role

Married To:: Thomas Gordon Wheelock (1945–1955); Manuel del Campo (1937–1944); Franklyn Thorpe (1931–1935); Kenneth Hawks (1928–1930 [his death])

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (1964); "Youngblood Hawke" (1964); "Ben Casey" (1963); "Burke's Law" (1963); "Dr. Kildare" (1962–1963); "The Defenders" (1963); "Checkmate" (1962); "Return to Peyton Place" (1961); "Rawhide" (1961); "Thriller" (1960); "Playhouse 90" (1957–1960); "Buick-Electra Playhouse" (1960); "The United States Steel Hour" (1955–1960); "General Electric Theater" (1959); "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1958–1959); "A Stranger in My Arms" (1959); "U.S. Marshal" (1958); "This Happy Feeling" (1958); "Studio One" (1954–1958); "The Devil's Hairpin" (1957); "Climax!" (1955–1957); "Lux Video Theatre" (1956–1957); "Zane Grey Theater" (1957); "Robert Montgomery Presents" (1956); "The Power and the Prize" (1956); "Matinee Theatre" (1956); "A Kiss Before Dying" (1956); "Playwrights '56" (1956); "Star Stage" (1956); "Studio 57" (1956); "Front Row Center" (1955); "Justice" (1955); "The Elgin Hour" (1955); "Producers' Showcase" (1955); "Kraft Television Theatre" (1955); "The Philco Television Playhouse" (1954); "The Best of Broadway" (1954); "Danger" (1954); "Kraft Television Theatre" (1951–1954); "Yesterday and Today" (1953); "Any Number Can Play" (1949); "Little Women" (1949); "Act of Violence" (1949); "Cass Timberlane" (1947); "Cynthia" (1947); "Desert Fury" (1947); "Fiesta" (1947); "Claudia and David" (1946); "Blonde Fever" (1944); "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944); "Thousands Cheer" (1943); "Young Ideas" (1943); "Across the Pacific" (1942); "The Palm Beach Story" (1942); "The Maltese Falcon" (1941); "The Great Lie" (1941); "Brigham Young" (1940); "Turnabout" (1940); "Midnight" (1939); "Listen, Darling" (1938); "Woman Against Woman" (1938); "There's Always a Woman" (1938); "Paradise for Three" (1938); "No Time to Marry" (1938); "The Hurricane" (1937); "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1937); "Lady from Nowhere" (1936); "Dodsworth" (1936); "Trapped by Television" (1936); "And So They Were Married" (1936); "The Murder of Dr. Harrigan" (1936); "Man of Iron" (1935); "Page Miss Glory" (1935); "Dinky" (1935); "Straight from the Heart" (1935); "Red Hot Tires" (1935); "I Am a Thief" (1934); "The Case of the Howling Dog" (1934); "The Man with Two Faces" (1934); "Return of the Terror" (1934); "Upper World" (1934); "Easy to Love" (1934); "Convention City" (1933); "The World Changes" (1933); "The Kennel Murder Case" (1933); "Jennie Gerhardt" (1933); "The Little Giant" (1933); "Red Dust" (1932); "A Successful Calamity" (1932); "Those We Love" (1932); "The Lost Squadron" (1932); "Men of Chance" (1931); "Smart Woman" (1931); "White Shoulders" (1931); "The Sin Ship" (1931); "Behind Office Doors" (1931); "Other Men's Women" (1931); "The Royal Bed" (1931); "The Lash" (1930); "Holiday" (1930); "Ladies Love Brutes" (1930); "Runaway Bride" (1930); "Show of Shows" (1929); "The Woman from Hell" (1929); "New Year's Eve" (1929); "Romance of the Underworld" (1928); "Dry Martini" (1928); "Heart to Heart" (1928); "3-Ring Marriage" (1928); "Dressed to Kill" (1928); "Sailors' Wives" (1928); "No Place to Go" (1927); "The Rough Riders" (1927); "Rose of the Golden West" (1927); "Two Arabian Knights" (1927); "The Sunset Derby" (1927); "The Sea Tiger" (1927); "Forever After" (1926); "Don Juan" (1926); "The Wise Guy" (1926); "High Steppers" (1926); "Scarlet Saint" (1925); "The Pace That Thrills" (1925); "Don Q Son of Zorro" (1925); "Playing with Souls" (1925); "Enticement" (1925); "Oh, Doctor!" (1925); "Inez from Hollywood" (1924); "The Price of a Party" (1924); "Unguarded Women" (1924); "The Fighting Adventurer" (1924); "Beau Brummel" (1924); "The Fighting Coward" (1924); "Woman-Proof" (1923); "The Marriage Maker" (1923); "Puritan Passions" (1923); "Hollywood" (1923); "The Bright Shawl" (1923); "Success" (1923); "Second Fiddle" (1923); "The Rapids" (1922); "The Man Who Played God" (1922); "John Smith" (1922); "Sentimental Tommy" (1921)

See all related content

Mary Astor (born May 3, 1906, Quincy, Ill., U.S.—died September 25, 1987, Woodland Hills, Calif.) was an American motion-picture and stage actress noted for her delicate, classic beauty and a renowned profile that earned her the nickname “The Cameo Girl.” With the ability to play a variety of characters ranging from villains to heroines to matrons, Astor worked in film from the silent era to the 1960s.

Astor’s early career was directed by her German-immigrant father, who entered her into a beauty contest at age 14; a year later she appeared in her first film, Sentimental Tommy (1921), although her role was cut from the release print. After a few bit parts in two-reelers, Astor was selected by John Barrymore to costar in Beau Brummel (1924). The two also began a lively, romantic offscreen relationship, with the legendary, 40-year-old Barrymore helping to hone the teenage Astor’s natural acting gifts. After the affair ended, Astor starred again with Barrymore in Don Juan (1926), the first silent movie with sound-on-disc Vitaphone music and sound effects. Perfecting her vocal technique in several stage productions, Astor made a successful transition to talkies.

Astor performed as leading lady, but in reality she was a character actress. She possessed an intelligent, natural acting style and always managed to rise above lacklustre material. Although her long career included a wide range of roles, she was often typecast as either a beautiful damsel in distress or a sympathetic matron. She demonstrated her acting range, however, in her most famous role: the lovely, devious femme fatale Brigid O’Shaughnessy in John Huston’s film noir masterpiece, The Maltese Falcon (1941), opposite Humphrey Bogart. That same year, her wicked characterization as selfish concert pianist Sandra Kovak in The Great Lie (1941) earned Astor an Oscar for best supporting actress.

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

Britannica Quiz

Oscar-Worthy Movie Trivia

Astor’s private life contained its share of drama and notoriety: four marriages, three divorces, alcoholism, suicide attempts, and one of Hollywood’s biggest sex scandals: her 1936 divorce and custody case predicated on her well-publicized affair with playwright George S. Kaufman. Though the scandal threatened Astor’s career, she did much of her best work in the years that followed.

Astor authored two books of memoirs, My Story (1959) and A Life on Film (1971), as well as several works of fiction.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.