Gale Sondergaard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gale Sondergaard
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Sondergaard in 1940
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| Born |
Edith Holm Sondergaard
February 15, 1899 Litchfield, Minnesota, U.S.
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| Died | August 14, 1985 (aged 86) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1936–1983 |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
Gale Sondergaard (born Edith Holm Sondergaard; February 15, 1899 – August 14, 1985) was an American actress. She was known for playing interesting and sometimes mysterious characters in movies.
Gale started her acting journey in plays on stage. She then moved to films in 1936. She made history by being the first person to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She won this award for her very first movie, Anthony Adverse (1936).
Throughout the late 1930s and 1940s, she often played supporting roles in many films. Some of these included The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Mark of Zorro (1940), and The Letter (1940). She was nominated for another Academy Award for her role in Anna and the King of Siam (1946).
After the 1940s, her film career paused for about 20 years. This happened because her husband, director Herbert Biberman, faced accusations during a time when the government was investigating people in Hollywood. She supported him through this difficult period. Gale Sondergaard later returned to acting in the late 1960s and continued until the early 1980s.
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Early Life and Acting Start
Gale Sondergaard was born in Litchfield, Minnesota. Her parents were Danish immigrants. Her father taught at the University of Minnesota. Gale herself studied drama there.
She later trained at the Minneapolis School of Dramatic Arts. After that, she joined a Shakespeare acting group. She traveled all over North America performing in famous plays like Hamlet and Macbeth. She then started acting on the New York stage with the Theatre Guild.
Film Career Highlights
Becoming a Star in the 1930s and 1940s
Gale Sondergaard made her first movie, Anthony Adverse, in 1936. She played a character named Faith Paleologus. Her performance was so good that she won the very first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. This was a huge start to her film career!
Her career continued to grow in the 1930s. She acted alongside famous actors like Paul Muni in The Life of Emile Zola (1937).
One interesting fact about her career is related to The Wizard of Oz. Before the movie was made, the filmmakers thought about making the Wicked Witch of the West look glamorous. Gale Sondergaard was chosen for this role. She even did costume tests for it.
However, the filmmakers later decided the witch should look scary and ugly. Gale didn't want to wear the heavy, disfiguring makeup. She worried it might hurt her career. So, she decided not to play the role. The part then went to actress Margaret Hamilton, who became famous as the green-faced witch.
Gale continued to play unique characters. She was a magical, tricky cat named Tylette in The Blue Bird (1940). She also played a mysterious wife in The Letter (1940) with Bette Davis. She appeared in some Sherlock Holmes movies, like The Spider Woman (1943).
In 1946, she received her second Academy Award nomination. This was for her role as the king's main wife in Anna and the King of Siam.
Challenges in the 1950s
Gale Sondergaard's career faced big problems in the early 1950s. This was during a time when the U.S. government was very worried about certain political ideas. Some people in Hollywood were suspected of having ideas that were seen as "un-American." Her husband, Herbert Biberman, was one of these people. He was part of a group known as the Hollywood Ten.
Because of these accusations, Gale's acting career in films stopped almost completely. She stood by her husband during this difficult time. They even sold their home in Hollywood and moved to New York City. In New York, Gale was able to find work acting in plays.
Returning to the Screen
In 1969, Gale Sondergaard started acting in films and television again. She performed in a one-woman play called Woman. Her revived career lasted into the early 1980s. She appeared in TV shows like Get Smart and Night Gallery.
Personal Life and Family
Gale Sondergaard had a younger sister, Hester Sondergaard, who was also an actress.
Gale was married twice. Her first marriage was to actor Neill O'Malley in 1922. They divorced in 1930. On May 15, 1930, she married director Herbert Biberman. They stayed married until he passed away in 1971. Gale and Herbert adopted two children, Joan and Daniel.
Gale Sondergaard passed away in 1985 at the age of 86. She had been in the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, since 1982. She died from a type of stroke.
Images for kids
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Gale Sondergaard in The Spider Woman.jpg
Gale Sondergaard in The Spider Woman (1944)
See also
In Spanish: Gale Sondergaard para niños
