Coral Browne

Biography

Australian actress who worked primarily in Britain and specialized in superior, upper-crust sorts. Browne began her stage career in Melbourne but moved to England at the age of 21 and quickly brightened the West End with her sharp delivery and stylish sense of comedy. Her film appearances were sporadic, though she made several pictures memorable with her presence, particularly The Ruling Class (1972) as the libidinous Lady Claire. While touring the Soviet Union in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of "Hamlet, " Browne encountered the expatriate British spy Guy Burgess, and this bizarre meeting became the basis of the television film An Englishman Abroad (1983), for which Browne won the BAFTA Best Actress award for playing herself. She met Vincent Price when they co-starred in Theater of Blood (1973), and married him in 1974. He was at her side when she died at 77 following a long struggle with breast cancer.