Betty Lawford

Betty Lawford (February 1, 1912 – November 20, 1960) was an English-born actress who built her career in the United States across both stage and film. Born into a theatrical family, her parents Ernest Lawford and Janet Slater Lawford were both actors, and she was a cousin of actor Peter Lawford.

Lawford's stage career began with a Players' Club production of King Henry IV, Part I, which also marked her Broadway debut in 1926. She subsequently appeared in Julius Caesar and The Lady Lies, the latter of which brought her back to Broadway in 1928. Her Broadway work spanned from 1926 to 1940 and included Heat Wave in 1931, There's Wisdom in Women in 1935, and The Old Women in 1936. She closed out her Broadway career with two productions in 1940, the musical Walk With Music and Glamour Preferred.

Lawford's film work began in 1929 with three releases: Gentlemen of the Press, Lucky in Love, and The Return of Sherlock Holmes. She continued working in Hollywood throughout the 1930s, appearing in Old English (1930), Secrets of a Secretary (1931), Berkeley Square (1933), The Monkey's Paw (1933), Gallant Lady (1934), Let's Be Ritzy (1934), The Human Side (1934), Love Before Breakfast (1936), Criminal Lawyer (1937), and Stolen Holiday (1937). She later appeared in Stage Door Canteen (1943) and The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947).

During her life, Lawford was briefly married to American actor-director Monta Bell. She died on November 20, 1960, at Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan following a three-week illness.