Margaret Anne Mary Mundy (January 4, 1915 – January 12, 2016) was an English-born American actress and model. She was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and in 1921, at the age of six, emigrated to the United States with her family.

Personal life

Mundy was born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, London. Her mother,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n opera singer Clytie Hine, studied at the

Elder Conservatorium The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is Australia's senior academy of music and is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder. Dating in ...

of Music in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. Her father was English

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

John Mundy. In 1921, the couple emigrated to the United States with their two children. Their father became orchestra manager of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

. After retiring as a performer, Hine coached opera singers and musical performers. Meg's younger brother was

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

history professor

John Hine Mundy John Hine Mundy (December 29, 1917 – April 13, 2004) was a British-American medievalist. He was professor of history emeritus at Columbia University, where he taught for more than forty years. Biography Mundy was born on December 29, 1917, in ...

. Mundy celebrated her 100th birthday on January 4, 2015, and died on January 12, 2016, at the age of 101.

Marriages

* Marc Daniels (1942–51; divorced) * Konstantinos "Dino" Yannopoulos (September 15, 1951–?; divorced); 1 child

Career

In 1940, modeling agency founder Harry Conover cited Mundy as one of the 10 top models ("those who lure the highest salaries"). A newspaper article two years later reported that Mundy was "said to be Manhattan's highest paid model." Mundy debuted as a concert singer at Carnegie Hall in 1942. In 1948 Mundy starred in ''

The Respectful Prostitute ''The Respectful Prostitute'' (french: La Putain respectueuse) is a French play by Jean-Paul Sartre, written in 1946, which observes a woman, a prostitute, caught up in a racially tense period of American history. The audience understands that t ...

'' (see below), but

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

professed ignorance: "Meg Mundy? What's that, a Welsh holiday?" (Film star

Ann Dvorak Ann Dvorak (born Anna McKim; August 2, 1911 – December 10, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told ''The Literary Digest'' in 1936: "My fake name is properly pronounced ''vor'shack ...

succeeded Mundy in that role.) Mundy also played Mary McLeod, the lead female role, in the Broadway production of ''

Detective Story Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

.''''Detective Story'' profile
ibdb.com; accessed November 17, 2014. On television she played, among other roles, an antiques fancier on an episode of ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...

'', and wealthy matriarch Mona Aldrich Croft on '' The Doctors'' from 1972 to 1973 and 1975–82, leaving 3 months before the show ended. After playing the role of Isabelle Alden on the pilot for the new soap '' Loving'', she briefly played Maeve Stoddard's imperious mother Julia on ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

''. She later played the role of Dimitri Marrick's wealthy aunt, Eugenia von Voynavitch on ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

''. Her film credits included roles in ''

Eyes of Laura Mars ''Eyes of Laura Mars'' is a 1978 American neo noir mystery-thriller film starring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones and directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay was adapted (in collaboration with David Zelag Goodman) from a spec script titled '' ...

'' (1978), ''

Oliver's Story ''Oliver's Story'' is a 1978 American romantic drama film and a sequel to '' Love Story'' (1970) based on a novel by Erich Segal published a year earlier. It was directed by John Korty and again starred Ryan O'Neal, this time opposite Candice Be ...

'' (1978), ''

The Bell Jar ''The Bell Jar'' is the only novel written by the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath. Originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963, the novel is semi-autobiographical with the names of places and people changed. The book ...

'' (1979), and as the mother of

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...

's character in ''

Ordinary People ''Ordinary People'' is a 1980 American drama film directed by Robert Redford in his directorial debut. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Judith Guest. The film follows the disintegration of an upper ...

'' (1980), which won the Academy Award as Best Picture Of The Year. She appeared in the 1983

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), ''King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

film '' The Survivors'', the 1987 films ''

Fatal Attraction ''Fatal Attraction'' is a 1987 American psychological thriller film directed by Adrian Lyne from a screenplay by James Dearden, based on his 1980 short film '' Diversion''. Starring Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, and Anne Archer, the film centers ...

'' and '' Someone to Watch Over Me'', and in two episodes of ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' in the 1990s.

Awards

In 1948 Mundy won the

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945� ...

for her performance in ''

'' at the

Cort Theatre The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It was built in ...

.Profile
IBDb.com; accessed November 17, 2014. In 1982 she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama Series at the 9th Daytime Emmy Awards for her role on '' The Doctors''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mundy, Meg 1915 births 2016 deaths American centenarians American film actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American people of Australian descent Actresses from New York City English centenarians English film actresses English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English people of Australian descent British emigrants to the United States Actresses from London Theatre World Award winners Women centenarians 21st-century American women