Actress, Singer. Born Grace Stansfield in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, she made her first stage appearance as a child in 1905, and started her adult career in traveling revue troupes while earning extra money with factory work. After teaming with Archie Pitt, a well known comedian, he gave her career a boost when he began to promote her. In 1923, the pair married. She made her film debut in 'Our Alley' in 1931; by 1936 she was the most popular British film star and earned a Twentieth Century Fox contract. Shortly after her appearance in the movie 'Shipyard Sally' in 1939, she was diagnosed with and treated for cervical cancer. While still recovering, the second World War began, and she returned home from her villa in Capri. Her second husband, an Italian national, was regarded as an enemy alien in Britain and subject to confinement, leading to her acceptance of a tour of the United States. Lambasted by the British press for her perceived desertion, she continued to raise money for England's war effort and entertained Allied troops throughout all all theatres of operation. She married a third time some two years after her second husband's death in 1950. In 1956, she played Miss Marple in an American TV production 'A Murder is Announced.' She opened the Gracie Fields Theatre in her home town, and in 1979 she was created Dame Commander of the British Empire. She passed less than a year later at her villa on Capri at the age of 81.
Actress, Singer. Born Grace Stansfield in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, she made her first stage appearance as a child in 1905, and started her adult career in traveling revue troupes while earning extra money with factory work. After teaming with Archie Pitt, a well known comedian, he gave her career a boost when he began to promote her. In 1923, the pair married. She made her film debut in 'Our Alley' in 1931; by 1936 she was the most popular British film star and earned a Twentieth Century Fox contract. Shortly after her appearance in the movie 'Shipyard Sally' in 1939, she was diagnosed with and treated for cervical cancer. While still recovering, the second World War began, and she returned home from her villa in Capri. Her second husband, an Italian national, was regarded as an enemy alien in Britain and subject to confinement, leading to her acceptance of a tour of the United States. Lambasted by the British press for her perceived desertion, she continued to raise money for England's war effort and entertained Allied troops throughout all all theatres of operation. She married a third time some two years after her second husband's death in 1950. In 1956, she played Miss Marple in an American TV production 'A Murder is Announced.' She opened the Gracie Fields Theatre in her home town, and in 1979 she was created Dame Commander of the British Empire. She passed less than a year later at her villa on Capri at the age of 81.
Bio by: Iola
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