Phyllis Neilson-Terry

Phyllis Neilson-Terry (15 October 1892 – 25 September 1977) was an English actress. She was a member of the third generation of the theatrical dynasty the Terry family. After early successes in the classics, including several leading Shakespearean roles, she spent more than four years in the US, in generally lightweight presentations.

Returning to England in 1919 she pursued a varied career, including cabaret, pantomime and variety as well as returning to Shakespeare and other classics. One of her last major roles was in Terence Rattigan's Separate Tables (1954) in which she played in the West End and on Broadway.

Neilson-Terry was born in London, the daughter of the actress Julia Neilson and her husband, the actor Fred Terry. The couple's other child was Phyllis's younger brother, Dennis Neilson-Terry, who also went on the stage. She was educated first at Westgate-on-Sea, and then in Paris, and after that at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she studied to be a singer.

In 1909 Neilson-Terry made her first stage appearance, in her parent's stage company on tour in Blackpool; she played Marie de Belleforêt in Henry of Navarre, under the stage name Phillida Terson. The attempt to disguise her membership of the Terry dynasty was unsuccessful and the following year she abandoned it and reverted to her own name. Her London debut was in the same role, at the New Theatre in January 1910. The following month, when her mother was unwell, she took over the leading role of Marguerite de Valois. The drama critic of The Observer commented that her performance in such a heavy role "must be pronounced very promising indeed".

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