Beatrix Alice Lehmann (1 July 1903 – 31 July 1979) was a British actress, theatre director, writer and novelist.

Early life and family

Lehmann was born in Bourne End,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

. She came from a family of notable achievers: the third of four children of author and publisher

Rudolph Chambers Lehmann Rudolph Chambers "R.C." Lehmann (3 January 1856 – 22 January 1929) was an English writer and Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1906 to 1910. As a writer he was best known for three decades in which he was a major ...

. Her great-uncle was

Henri Lehmann Henri Lehmann (; 14 April 1814 – 30 March 1882) was a German-born French historical painter and portraitist. Life Born Heinrich Salem Lehmann in Kiel, in the Duchy of Holstein, he received his first art tuition from his father Leo Lehmann ...

the artist. Her brother was publisher

John Lehmann Rudolf John Frederick Lehmann (2 June 1907 – 7 April 1987) was an English poet and man of letters. He founded the periodicals ''New Writing'' and ''The London Magazine'', and the publishing house of John Lehmann Limited. Biography Born in ...

and one of her two older sisters was the novelist

Rosamond Lehmann Rosamond Nina Lehmann (3 February 1901 – 12 March 1990) was an English novelist and translator. Her first novel, '' Dusty Answer'' (1927), was a ''succès de scandale''; she subsequently became established in the literary world and intimat ...

Career

Lehmann trained at

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the S ...

and made her stage debut as Peggy in a 1924 production '' The Way of the World'' at the Lyric Hammersmith. She also appeared in films and on television. She wrote short stories and two novels, including ''Rumour of Heaven'', first published in 1934 (). In 1946 Lehmann became director and producer of the Arts Council Midland Theatre Company. She was awarded Britain's Radio Actress of the Year in 1977. In 1962 she played the matriarch Bernadette Amorelle in a Maigret episode, The Dirty House. She played

Susan Calvin Dr. Susan Calvin is a fictional character appearing in Isaac Asimov's ''Robot'' series of science fiction short stories. According to I, Robot, Susan Calvin was born in the year 1982 and died at the age of 82, either in 2064 or 2065. She was t ...

in " The Prophet" (1967), a now

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

episode of the British science fiction television series ''

Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science fi ...

'', and appeared in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' serial '' The Stones of Blood'' (1978) as Professor Emilia Rumford. In 1979 she played Mrs Pleasant in a film version of '' The Cat and The Canary''. Other roles include ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it deb ...

'', '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'', ''

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman playwright Plautu ...

'', ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'', '' Love for Lydia'', '' Staircase'', and ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Преступление и наказание, Prestupléniye i nakazániye, prʲɪstʊˈplʲenʲɪje ɪ nəkɐˈzanʲɪje) is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. ...

''.

Death

Lehmann died in

Camden, London The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and ...

, aged 76. There are 12 portraits of Lehmann in the British National Portrait Gallery Collection.

Filmography

* '' The Passing of the Third Floor Back'' (1935) as Miss Kite * '' Strangers on Honeymoon'' (1936) as Elfrida * '' The Rat'' (1937) as Marguerite * '' Candles at Nine'' (1944) as Julia Carberry, Everard's Housekeeper * '' The Key'' (1958) as Housekeeper * '' On the Fiddle'' (1961) as Lady Edith * '' Psyche 59'' (1964) as Mrs. Crawford * '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' (1965) as Tribunal President * ''

'' (1966) as Domina's Mother * '' Wonderwall'' (1968) as Mother * ''

The Portrait of a Lady ''The Portrait of a Lady'' is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in ''The Atlantic Monthly'' and '' Macmillan's Magazine'' in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881. It is one of James's most popular novels and is regarded by cr ...

'' (1968, TV Series) as Lydia Touchett * '' Staircase'' (1969) as Charlie's Mother * '' The Cat and the Canary'' (1978) as Mrs. Pleasant * '' The Stones of Blood (Doctor Who) '' (1978) as Professor Rumford

References

External links

Performances listed in Theatre Archive University of Bristol
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehmann, Beatrix 1903 births 1979 deaths Lehmann family English stage actresses English film actresses English television actresses Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 20th-century English actresses Actresses from Buckinghamshire 20th-century British businesspeople English LGBT actors 20th-century LGBT people