Evelyn Laye

Evelyn Laye, CBE (10 July 1900 – 17 February 1996), was a celebrated English actress whose illustrious career spanned stage and screen, particularly in London's light opera scene. Born Elsie Evelyn Lay in Bloomsbury, London, she was immersed in the world of theatre from a young age, thanks to her parents, both actors, and her father, a theatre manager.

Laye's stage debut occurred in August 1915 at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, where she portrayed Nang-Ping in the play Mr. Wu. By the age of 16, she was performing in London at the East Ham Palace in the revue Honi Soit, which she toured extensively. Her early career was marked by notable performances in musical comedies and operettas, including Going Up (1918), Phi-Phi (1922), and Madame Pompadour (1923).

In 1929, Laye made her mark on Broadway with the American premiere of Noël Coward's Bitter Sweet and later appeared in several early Hollywood musicals. Throughout her career, she also delighted audiences in pantomimes like The Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Laye returned to the West End in 1954 with the musical Wedding in Paris and starred in various productions alongside her second husband, Frank Lawton, including the sitcom My Husband and I (1956).

Her personal life was tumultuous; she married actor Sonnie Hale in 1926, but their union ended in divorce after Hale's affair with actress Jessie Matthews. Laye later married Lawton, remaining together until his passing. Recognized for her contributions to the arts, she was appointed a CBE in 1973 and continued to perform into her nineties, leaving a lasting legacy in theatre and film.