Angela Lansbury’s life in photos

Angela Lansbury was known best as the star of “Murder, She Wrote” for 12 seasons. CBS/Getty Angela Lansbury died at 96, “peacefully in her sleep. ” She was known best for being the star of “Murder, She Wrote” for 12 seasons.

Lansbury was also a three-time Oscar nominee and won five Tony Awards. Lansbury didn’t waste any time finding attention in Hollywood. Leaving central London during “The Blitz” in World War II for America in 1940, she ended up in Hollywood.

Angela Lansbury getting a taste of the spotlight. John Springer Collection/Corbis/GettyHere’s Lansbury in 1944’s “Gaslight. ” The eventual classic starring Ingrid Bergman marked the 17-year-old’s first role, playing the maid Nancy Oliver.

“Gaslight” marked the movie debut for Lansbury (center). Donaldson Collection/GettyThe role didn’t just launch the profession Lansbury would do the rest of her life, it also garnered the first of three Oscar nominations she’d receive over her career. Angela Lansbury in the 1940s.

GettyLansbury’s second Oscar nomination would come a year later for “The Picture of Dorian Gray. “Hurd Hatfield and Angela Lansbury in “The Picture of Dorian Gray. “Donaldson Collection/GettyWith her instant success, MGM signed her to a contract into the 1950s.

But it didn’t stretch her talents. Lansbury needed a change. Clarence Sinclair Bull/John Kobal Foundation/GettyPersonally, she was also going through challenging times.

After her marriage to artist Richard Cromwell lasted only a year, she rebounded and began dating actor Peter Shaw. The two married in 1949 and were together until his death in 2003. Peter Shaw and Angela Lansbury on their wedding day in 1949.

Walter Bellamy/Express/GettyAfter getting out of her MGM contract, Lansbury found it difficult not just to find worthwhile roles, but ones of her age. She seemed to always get cast for older parts. Angela Lansbury in the 1950s.

Getty”Hollywood made me old before my time,” she wrote in her biography. So she changed things up and headed to the stage. Lansbury goes to Broadway.

NBC/GettyBroadway became Lansbury’s lifeline. Whether it was stage plays or musicals, she took it all on and became a sensation. Angela Lansbury’s first-ever musical was opposite Lee Remick in 1964’s “Anyone Can Whistle.

“Trascendental Graphics/GettyThe acclaim quickly followed. On the screen, it was another Oscar nomination for her performance in 1962’s “The Manchurian Candidate. “Angela Lansbury and Laurence Harvey in “The Manchurian Candidate.

“John Springer Collection/Corbis/GettyOn stage, she won her first Tony Award for her work in 1966’s “Mame. “Angela Lansbury in “Mame. “Jack Mitchell/GettyLansbury worked steadily in the 1970s.

Lansbury was only getting warmed up. GettyHighlights include starring in the 1971 Disney classic “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” and the 1978 version of “Death on the Nile. “Angela Lansbury in “Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

“GettyBut by the time the 1980s hit, everything changed. Angela Lansbury became a sensation thanks to “Murder, She Wrote. “Angela Lansbury in “Murder, She Wrote.

“CBS/GettyThe show became a phenomenon as it ran from 1984-1996, but a rerun of it is probably playing on TV somewhere in the world right now. Angela Lansbury played a crime novelist who also solved real-life murders in “Murder, She Wrote. “CBS/GettyDuring this same time of having a hit TV show, Lansbury also found time to voice Mrs.

Potts in 1991’s “Beauty and the Beast” and performed the memorable Oscar-winning title song. During the film’s 25th anniversary with cast and crew, Lansbury recalled how the movie version of the song was recorded in a single take. Getty/Lisa Maree Williams/DisneyThrough the 2000s and 2010s, Lansbury continued to work and found more acclaim: BAFTA Lifetime Award in 2003.

Honorary Oscar in 2014. She was made a dame by the Queen of England in the same year. And she received the Laurence Olivier Award in 2015.

She was one of a kind. Joyce Tenneson/GettyRead the original article on Insider.