Anna Lee

Biography: Anna Lee was 14 when she ran away from her home in Kent, England to join a circus. Within a few years Lee had abandoned the big top for the London stage, and by 1932 she was appearing in films. Even while in her very early twenties, she exuded the sort of maturity and sensibility that would be the hallmark of her later work. In Hollywood from 1940, Lee gained a large American following with her portrayal of Bronwyn in the Oscar-winning How Green Was My Valley (1941). Forever grateful to director John Ford for this career boost, she continued appearing in Ford's films well into the 1960s, even playing a unbilled cameo as a holdup victim in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Before her graceful segue into character roles, Lee played the romantic interest for leading men as diverse as Ronald Colman and John Wayne; in 1946 she was starred in the Val Lewton production Bedlam (1946), appearing opposite Boris Karloff. A sparkling raconteur, she was much in demand as a quiz showAnna Lee was 14 when she ran away from her home in Kent, England to join a circus. Within a few years Lee had abandoned the big top for the London stage, and by 1932 she was appearing in films. Even while in her very early twenties, she exuded the sort of maturity and sensibility that would be the hallmark of her later work. In Hollywood from 1940, Lee gained a large American following with her portrayal of Bronwyn in the Oscar-winning How Green Was My Valley (1941). Forever grateful to director John Ford for this career boost, she continued appearing in Ford's films well into the 1960s, even playing a unbilled cameo as a holdup victim in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Before her graceful segue into character roles, Lee played the romantic interest for leading men as diverse as Ronald Colman and John Wayne; in 1946 she was starred in the Val Lewton production Bedlam (1946), appearing opposite Boris Karloff. A sparkling raconteur, she was much in demand as a quiz show panelist in the early days of television, appearing regularly on CBS series It's News to Me. Since 1978, Lee has been accumulating whole new generations of fans via her portrayal of Lila Quartermaine on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. Married twice, to director Robert Stevenson and author Robert Nathan, Anna Lee is the mother of actors Venetia Stevenson and Jeffrey Brown.… Expand