Margaret Bannerman

Margaret Bannerman, born Marguerite Grand on December 15, 1896, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was a Canadian actress whose career spanned stage and film across multiple countries. She died on June 14, 1976. Her Broadway appearances extended from 1942 to 1957 and included productions such as By Jupiter, Rebecca, Getting Married, The Starcross Story, and My Fair Ladies.

Bannerman was the daughter of Charles Grand and Margaret Hurst. Her early education took place at Bishop Strachan School in Toronto and the Mount Saint Vincent Academy in Halifax, Nova Scotia. When World War I began, the family relocated to England. She launched her professional stage career in 1915, appearing in Charlotte's Revue alongside Gertrude Lawrence. During the silent film era, she took roles in several English comedy films, among them The Gay Lord Quex, Lady Audley's Secret, and Hindle Wakes.

A defining achievement of her stage career came with the role of Lady George Graystone in Somerset Maugham's Our Betters, which ran for 548 performances at the Globe Theatre in London. A nervous breakdown in 1925 temporarily halted her work. She spent a year touring Australia and New Zealand in 1928 before returning to London theatre. In March 1929, while in Melbourne during the fifth Ashes Test match, she congratulated England cricketer Jack Hobbs with a kiss after he became the oldest player to score a Test century, at 46 years and 82 days old.

Bannerman moved to the United States in the 1930s and pursued roles in American film, continuing her screen work through 1947. She performed in her hometown of Toronto twice during her career: first in 1940 in Our Betters at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, and again in November 1963, when she appeared as Mrs. Higgins in a touring production of My Fair Lady. That performance marked her retirement from acting. She subsequently settled in an actors' home in Englewood, New Jersey, where she pursued longstanding interests in furniture and antiques.

Bannerman was married twice, to London producer Anthony Prinsep and to actor Pat Somerset.