# Coral Browne
**Coral Browne** (23 July 1913 – 29 May 1991) was an Australian-born actress, born Coral Edith Brown, who built her career in Britain and the United States and became a theater and film star in both countries.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) • [2](https://www.portrait.gov.au/people/coral-browne-1913) She was noted for playing worldly, sharp-tongued women on stage and screen, for Shakespearean roles at the Old Vic, and for the film role of Vera Charles in *Auntie Mame* (1958).[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-08-ca-209-story.html) Late in life she played herself opposite the British spy [Guy Burgess](https://www.edgepedia.org/guy-burgess) in [Alan Bennett](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-bennett)'s television drama *An Englishman Abroad* (1983), winning the [British Academy of Film and Television Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-academy-of-film-and-television-arts) (BAFTA) best actress award.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) From 1974 until her death she was married to the horror film actor Vincent Price, her co-star in *Theatre of Blood* (1973).[4](https://www.portrait.gov.au/portraits/1999.20/coral-browne)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 July 1913, Footscray, Melbourne, Victoria; birth name Coral Edith Brown, only child of Leslie Clarence Brown, a railway clerk, and Victoria Elizabeth (née Bennett)[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) |
| Died | 29 May 1991, Los Angeles, California, aged 77, of breast cancer (IBDB lists May 21, 1991)[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0114982/) • [6](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/coral-browne-33375) |
| Career move | Left for England in May 1934, aged 20; returned to Australia only twice, in 1948 and 1980[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) |
| Shakespearean roles | Lady Macbeth, Goneril in *King Lear*, and Queen Gertrude in *Hamlet* at the Old Vic Company in 1956[2](https://www.portrait.gov.au/people/coral-browne-1913) |
| BAFTA | Best actress, 1984, for playing herself in *An Englishman Abroad* (1983)[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) • [7](https://www.bafta.org/awards/television/?award-year=1984) |
| Signature film roles | Vera Charles in *Auntie Mame* (1958), Lady Claire Gurney in *The Ruling Class* (1972), Alice Hargreaves in *Dreamchild* (1985)[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/coral_browne) |
| Marriages | Philip Westrope Pearman (26 June 1950; died 1964); Vincent Price (24 October 1974, Santa Barbara)[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) |
## Early life and Melbourne beginnings
Browne was educated at Claremont Ladies' College in Footscray and earned an associate diploma in elocution from the London College of Music in 1928, a qualification shaped by her mother's determination that she not speak with a local accent.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) • [9](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-28/who-was-australian-actress-coral-browne-hollywood-star/101654722) After leaving school at fifteen she began studying commercial art.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293)
**An accidental start.** Her acting career began by accident during the 1931 production of [John Galsworthy](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-galsworthy)'s *The Roof*: while working as a stage designer, she was invited into the cast when the lead actress fell ill.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) She had made her professional debut that year as Margaret Orme in the Melbourne Comedy Theatre production of *Loyalties*, and had 28 plays to her credit before leaving Australia.[10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/browne-coral-1913-1991) Offered a contract with the theatrical firm J. C. Williamson Ltd, she became known as a rising talent, and her mentor, the Melbourne director Gregan McMahon, urged her to try her luck in London.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293)
In 1936 she added an 'e' to her surname, from Brown to Browne.[9](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-28/who-was-australian-actress-coral-browne-hollywood-star/101654722)
## The London stage
In London she began as an understudy to Nora Swinburne in *Lover's Leap* (1934), and stepped in when Swinburne fell ill the night after the play opened; the success led to a series of substantial roles.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) • [10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/browne-coral-1913-1991) By the late 1940s she was the third highest paid actress on the West End stage, and was regularly in residence at the Savoy Theatre during that decade.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) • [9](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-28/who-was-australian-actress-coral-browne-hollywood-star/101654722) Her London hits included *The Man Who Came to Dinner* (1941), in which she played Maggie Cutler, and *The Last of Mrs. Cheyney*.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) • [10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/browne-coral-1913-1991)
In 1956 she gave an acclaimed performance as [Lady Macbeth](https://www.edgepedia.org/lady-macbeth) with the Old Vic in London and New York, alongside her Goneril and Gertrude that year.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) • [2](https://www.portrait.gov.au/people/coral-browne-1913) Her Broadway credits, recorded by IBDB, include *Tamburlaine the Great* (1956), *Macbeth* (1956), *Troilus and Cressida* (1956), *The Rehearsal* (1963), and *The Right Honourable Gentleman* (1965–1966).[6](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/coral-browne-33375)
## Film and television
**Comic and worldly roles.** Browne began appearing in films in the late 1930s, starting with *The Amateur Gentleman* (1936).[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/coral_browne) • [10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/browne-coral-1913-1991) Her film appearances were sporadic, but she made several pictures memorable: as Vera Charles opposite [Rosalind Russell](https://www.edgepedia.org/rosalind-russell) in *Auntie Mame* (1958), a role she took while temporarily leaving the Old Vic; as Lady Claire Gurney in Peter Medak's satire *The Ruling Class* (1972); and in *The Killing of Sister George* (1968), in which she filmed one of the first lesbian love scenes in a mainstream film, opposite [Susannah York](https://www.edgepedia.org/susannah-york).[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0114982/) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/coral_browne) • [9](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-28/who-was-australian-actress-coral-browne-hollywood-star/101654722) • [11](https://www.theatreheritage.org.au/on-stage-magazine/profiles/818-encounters-with-stars-of-the-theatrical-kind-part-1) *The Killing of Sister George* received an [X rating](https://www.edgepedia.org/x-rating) in the United States after a new rating system was introduced, which affected its box office.[9](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-28/who-was-australian-actress-coral-browne-hollywood-star/101654722)
**The Burgess encounter.** While visiting Moscow with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company in 1958, she met the British defector Guy Burgess, who had fled to the Soviet Union; she spent several weeks in his company in Moscow.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) • [11](https://www.theatreheritage.org.au/on-stage-magazine/profiles/818-encounters-with-stars-of-the-theatrical-kind-part-1) She told the story for years until Alan Bennett heard her one evening and wrote the teleplay *An Englishman Abroad* (1983), directed by [John Schlesinger](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-schlesinger), with [Alan Bates](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-bates) as Burgess and Browne playing herself.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-08-ca-209-story.html) At the 1984 BAFTA Television Awards she won best actress, beating nominees [Blair Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/blair-brown), Judi Dench, and Maggie Smith.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) • [7](https://www.bafta.org/awards/television/?award-year=1984) "That wasn't a performance, really," she said of the semi-biographical role. "I was simply playing myself."[12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-31-mn-2821-story.html)
**Dreamchild.** In 1985 she appeared in Gavin Millar's *Dreamchild* as the octogenarian Alice Hargreaves, who as a girl had inspired [Lewis Carroll](https://www.edgepedia.org/lewis-carroll)'s *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland*; the film brought her great critical acclaim late in life, and Los Angeles Times critic Kevin Thomas called her work "a truly splendid performance".[4](https://www.portrait.gov.au/portraits/1999.20/coral-browne) • [12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-31-mn-2821-story.html) She named the role one of her three career favorites, along with *Macbeth* in New York and *The Waltz of the Toreadors* in London.[12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-31-mn-2821-story.html)
## Vincent Price and later life
Browne met [Vincent Price](https://www.edgepedia.org/vincent-price) in 1972 on the set of *Theatre of Blood*, in which he played a Shakespearean actor taking revenge on his critics and she played one of the critics; following Price's divorce, they married on 24 October 1974 at Santa Barbara, when she was 61.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) • [9](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-28/who-was-australian-actress-coral-browne-hollywood-star/101654722) She moved to the United States and lived with Price in Los Angeles.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) From the mid-1970s her career declined, and she said Hollywood offered few parts for an aging actress: "Here, if you're over 29, they'd be happy for you to go to Forest Lawn and not hurry back."[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) • [12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-31-mn-2821-story.html) Her only stage accolade was the 1977 Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle featured performance award for her Lady Bracknell in *The Importance of Being Earnest*.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1987.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0114982/)
She was equally renowned offstage for her sharp wit, elegant demeanor, passion for designer clothes, and talent for profanity; her biographer Rose Collis titled a 2007 book *Coral Browne: 'This Effing Lady'*, and [Barry Humphries](https://www.edgepedia.org/barry-humphries) delivered a rhyming tribute at her memorial service.[1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) • [11](https://www.theatreheritage.org.au/on-stage-magazine/profiles/818-encounters-with-stars-of-the-theatrical-kind-part-1) • [13](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/coral-browne-this-effing-lady-by-rose-collis-397885.html)
Diagnosed with breast cancer shortly before filming *An Englishman Abroad*, she fought the disease for the rest of her life and died in Los Angeles on 29 May 1991, aged 77.[9](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-28/who-was-australian-actress-coral-browne-hollywood-star/101654722) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0114982/)
## Collections and commemoration
The Performing Arts Museum, Melbourne, holds the Coral Browne Collection, which documents her life from her early days in Footscray to her Hollywood career; a 1980 interview she gave to Frank Van Strahan is also held in the Performing Arts Collection.[2](https://www.portrait.gov.au/people/coral-browne-1913) • [1](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293) The National Portrait Gallery in Canberra holds her 1975 portrait by [Don Bachardy](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-bachardy), and the National Portrait Gallery in London lists her as a sitter in nine portraits, from a 1935 Bassano negative to an Angus McBean bromide print of 1981.[4](https://www.portrait.gov.au/portraits/1999.20/coral-browne) • [14](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp51110/coral-edith-browne) Her story reached the stage in Maureen Sherlock's one-woman play *Coral Browne: This F***ing Lady*, performed by Amanda Muggleton at the King's Head Theatre in London in 2019.[15](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/may/28/coral-browne-this-fing-lady-review-kings-head-theatre-london)
## References
1. [Yves Rees, 'Browne, Coral Edith (1913–1991)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 19 (2021)](https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-coral-edith-19293)
2. [Coral Browne, National Portrait Gallery of Australia](https://www.portrait.gov.au/people/coral-browne-1913)
3. [Charles Champlin, 'Coral Browne: Her Character Survives', Los Angeles Times, 8 June 1991](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-08-ca-209-story.html)
4. [Coral Browne portrait by Don Bachardy, National Portrait Gallery of Australia](https://www.portrait.gov.au/portraits/1999.20/coral-browne)
5. [Coral Browne, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0114982/)
6. [Coral Browne, IBDB (Internet Broadway Database)](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/coral-browne-33375)
7. [BAFTA Television Awards 1984 Results](https://www.bafta.org/awards/television/?award-year=1984)
8. [Coral Browne, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/coral_browne)
9. ['Australian actor Coral Browne went from humble beginnings to a 1940s Hollywood star', ABC News, 28 November 2022](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-28/who-was-australian-actress-coral-browne-hollywood-star/101654722)
10. ['Browne, Coral (1913–1991)', Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/browne-coral-1913-1991)
11. ['Encounters with Stars of the Theatrical Kind (Part 1)', Theatre Heritage Australia](https://www.theatreheritage.org.au/on-stage-magazine/profiles/818-encounters-with-stars-of-the-theatrical-kind-part-1)
12. ['Coral Browne; Stage, Film Actress in U.S. and Britain', Los Angeles Times, 31 May 1991](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-31-mn-2821-story.html)
13. [Matthew Sweet, review of Rose Collis, 'Coral Browne: This Effing Lady', The Independent, 2007](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/coral-browne-this-effing-lady-by-rose-collis-397885.html)
14. [Coral Edith Browne, National Portrait Gallery, London](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp51110/coral-edith-browne)
15. [Michael Billington, 'Coral Browne: This F***ing Lady! review', The Guardian, 28 May 2019](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/may/28/coral-browne-this-fing-lady-review-kings-head-theatre-london)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Australian actors › Surnames A to D*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license