Born 1904 as Florence Marjorie Robertson in Forest Gate, Essex, English actress, singer and dancer Anna Neagle made her stage debut as a dancer in 1917 and played her first starring film role in the musical Goodnight, Vienna (1932).
Neagle was a successful box-office draw in the British cinema for 20 years and was voted the most popular star in Britain in 1949. She was known for providing glamor and sophistication to war-torn London audiences with her lightweight musicals, comedies and historical dramas. Almost all of her films were produced and directed by Herbert Wilcox, whom she married in 1943.
In her historical dramas, Neagle was renowned for her portrayals of British historical figures, including Nell Gwyn (Nell Gwyn, 1934), Queen Victoria (Victoria the Great, 1937 and Sixty Glorious Years, 1938), Edith Cavell (Nurse Edith Cavell, 1939), and Florence Nightingale (The Lady with a Lamp, 1951).
Neagle was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1952 New Year Honours and, for her contributions to the theatre, a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1969 Birthday Honours.
Neagle died aged 81 from breast cancer in 1986. A street named in her honor, Anna Neagle Close, is situated in Forest Gate, east London. Take a look at these beautiful photos to see portraits of a young Anna Neagle in the 1930s and 1940s.
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