Anna Quayle

Anna Quayle (6 October 1932 – 16 August 2019) was an English actress born in London, England, who worked across stage, film, and television throughout her career. Born Anne Veronica Maria Quayle, she was the daughter of actor Douglas Quayle and the sister of actor John Quayle. She made her first stage appearance at age three in East Lynne and took on additional children's roles in the years that followed. In her youth she also worked as a model; during one assignment she fell from a ladder and broke her nose in three places, and at her father's urging she chose not to have it surgically straightened. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and following her graduation she appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Better Late in 1956.

Quayle's Broadway career brought her significant recognition. She appeared in the original Broadway production of Stop the World – I Want to Get Off in 1962, performing opposite Anthony Newley. For that role she received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1963. She also appeared in productions of the same musical in London and South Africa.

Her film work spanned several decades and included a range of notable productions. She appeared in A Hard Day's Night in 1964 in a scene with John Lennon, and went on to roles in Smashing Time (1967), Casino Royale (1967), and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968).

On television, Quayle was a regular panellist on the BBC2 panel programme What's My Line? in 1973. She appeared in the comedy drama series Mapp and Lucia, the children's science fiction series The Georgian House, and The Avengers. She played Mrs. Monroe in Grange Hill across 85 episodes between 1990 and 1994.

In 2012, Quayle was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. She died on 16 August 2019 at the age of 86. She had been married to Donald Baker, whom she wed in 1976; the marriage later ended in divorce.