Hermione Baddeley

Hermione Baddeley
Baddeley at home by Allan Warren
Born	Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley (1906-11-13)13 November 1906 Broseley, Shropshire, England, UK
Died	19 August 1986(1986-08-19) (aged 79) Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1927–1986
Spouse(s)	Hon. David Pax Tennant (1928-1937; divorced); 2 children Major J. H. Willis (1940-1946; divorced)
Children	Pauline Tennant David Tennant

Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley, known as Hermione Baddeley, (13 November 1906 – 19 August 1986) was an English character actress of theatre, film and television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Room at the Top (1959) and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore in 1963. She typically played brash, vulgar characters, often referred to as "brassy" or "blowsy". She found her milieu in revue, in which she played from the 1930s to the 1950s, co-starring several times with Hermione Gingold.

Baddeley was born in Broseley, Shropshire, England. She is a descendent of British American Revolutionary War General Sir Henry Clinton. Her elder sister, Angela Baddeley, was also an actress. Her half-brother, Very Rev William Baddeley, was a Church of England minister who became Rural Dean of Westminster.

Baddeley was known for standout supporting performances in such films as Mary Poppins (as Ellen, the maidservant), The Belles of St Trinian's, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Passport to Pimlico, The Pickwick Papers, Tom Brown's Schooldays and A Christmas Carol, although she first began making films back in the 1920s. One of her more important roles was in Brighton Rock (1947), in which she played Ida, one of the main characters, whose personal investigation into the disappearance of a friend threatens the anti-hero Pinkie.