Comedic Actress. Joyce Grenfell, a British actress, appeared in the Golden Globe-winning film, "The Yellow Rolls-Royce" in 1964; "Stage Fright" in 1950; and the St. Tinian comedic films, "Police Sergeant Ruby Gates." In an era when women usually did not perform songs and monologues on stage and radio, she was a very successful pioneer. Born Joyce Irene Phipps into a well-to-do family, she was a daughter of American parents. She attended private schools and in May of 1928 she was presented as a debutante at Buckingham Palace. She attended one year at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. With her sharp features and toothy grin, she abandoned her plans of serious acting in 1938 for the world of comedy. Although she was never a stage actress, she appeared in numerous revues. Her first was in 1941 in "The Little Revue." During World War II, she wrote for and appeared in three West End revues: "Diversion" and "Diversion No. 2 "at Wyndham's Theatre in 1940 and 1941, and "Light and Shade" at the Ambassadors "in 1942. Her first film role was in the 1941 film, "A Letter from Home," and she is credited with at least 25 films with the last being in 1963. Performing for the military, she toured in 1944 and 1945 in Algeria, Malta, Sicily, Italy, Iran, Iraq, India and Egypt. After the war, her learned skills created revues and solo shows, which filled theatres in the West End in London and 24 performances in April of 1958 on Broadway in New York City. During her career, she made popular at least 30 songs with monologues with most being recorded on vinyl in the 1970s. Between January of 1968 and 1969, she read three stories on the children's BBC series "Jackanory." Her career declined as her health did. During the 1970s, she appeared infrequently, but did appear on American television in the "David Cavett Show" and as a panelist on the British television "Face the Music," with the last episode airing a month after her death. Her last performance on stage would be in 1973 before Queen Elizabeth and her guests at Windsor Castle. Being of the Christian Science faith, she did not seek traditional medical treatments. In 1973 she was diagnosed with infection in her left eye, resulting in near blindness. Eventually, her eye had to be removed, causing her to use a glass prosthetic. Six years later, she was diagnosed with ocular cancer. She became seriously ill from the returning of the cancer in her spine in October of 1979, dying week later in November and shortly before her golden wedding anniversary in December. On December 12, 1929 she married Reginald Pascoe Grenfell, an accountant, who helped manage her career, and no children were born to the union. She was the first comedian to have a memorial service at Westminister Abbey. She was created an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1946 for her World War II work. After her death, confirmation was received that she would have been made a Dame Commander (DBE) in the 1980 New Year Honors List, weeks after her death. In 1998, the Royal Mail memorialized her with her image on a postage stamp as part of a series of stamps celebrating five comedians. Besides journalism work early in her career, she authored two autobiographies. Her biography "Joyce Grenfell" was published in 2002 by her friend and author Jane Hampton.