Irene Worth facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Irene Worth
Worth in The Scapegoat (1959)
Born	Harriett Elizabeth Abrams (1916-06-23)June 23, 1916 Fairbury, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	March 10, 2002(2002-03-10) (aged 85) New York City, U.S.
Years active	1943–2001

Irene Worth (born June 23, 1916 – died March 10, 2002) was a famous American actress. She became a top star in both British and American theater and movies. Her first name is pronounced "I-REE-nee."

Irene Worth started her acting career on Broadway in 1943. She later joined the famous the Old Vic company in 1951. In 1962, she became part of the Royal Shakespeare Company. She won a BAFTA Award for her role in the 1958 film Orders to Kill.

She also appeared in movies like Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) and Deathtrap (1982). Irene Worth won three Tony Awards, which are top awards for theater actors. She won for Tiny Alice in 1965 and Sweet Bird of Youth in 1976. Her third Tony was in 1991 for Lost in Yonkers. She even played the same role in the 1993 movie version.

Early Life and Education

Irene Worth was born as Harriett Elizabeth Abrams in Fairbury, Nebraska. She was the oldest of three children. Her parents, Henry and Agnes Abrams, were both teachers. Her father was born in Russia.

Her family moved to Southern California in 1920. She went to Newport Harbor High School and later to UCLA. In 1944, she moved to London. She lived there for most of her acting career.

A Career on Stage and Screen

Irene Worth was known for her amazing acting skills. She could play many different types of characters.

Early Theater Roles

In 1951, she joined the Old Vic theater company. There, she played important roles like Desdemona in Othello. She also played Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Portia in The Merchant of Venice. Her first time playing Lady Macbeth was also with this company. The Old Vic company even toured South Africa with Irene Worth as a main actress.

In 1953, she helped start the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. She was the main leading lady there. She performed with famous actor Alec Guinness in plays like All's Well That Ends Well.

She returned to London and acted in A Day by the Sea. This play also starred famous actors John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson. She also played in the funny play Hotel Paradiso with Alec Guinness. She showed her serious acting skills in Mary Stuart.

Winning a BAFTA Award

Irene Worth also appeared in several British films. Her strong performance in the 1958 movie Orders to Kill was very notable. She played a French Resistance agent during wartime. This role earned her the BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actress.

Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company

In 1962, Irene Worth joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). She gave some of her most famous performances there. She played Goneril in King Lear with Paul Scofield. This was the start of many projects with director Peter Brook. She also played Goneril in the black-and-white movie version of King Lear.

She played Lady Macbeth again and worked with Peter Brook in The Physicists. In this play, she showed her ability to play darker characters.

Broadway Success and Tony Awards

In 1965, she went to New York City for Edward Albee's play Tiny Alice. She starred with Sir John Gielgud in this play. Her performance won her the first of her three Tony Awards. She later returned to the RSC to play this role again.

She also worked with Peter Brook in Paris and toured Iran. In 1968, she joined the Royal National Theatre. There, she played Jocasta in Oedipus with John Gielgud. She also appeared with Sir Noël Coward in his play Suite in Three Keys.

In 1974, she performed in three plays at the Greenwich Theatre. These plays were Hamlet, The Seagull, and Ghosts.

Acting in North America

Irene Worth spent most of the 1970s in North America. She was highly praised for her role as Hedda Gabler in Stratford, Ontario. A critic from The New York Times even called her "just possibly the best actress in the world."

She won her second Tony Award for playing Princess Kosmonopolis in Tennessee Williams's Sweet Bird of Youth. She also played Madame Ranevskaya in The Cherry Orchard. This role earned her another Tony nomination. She worked with young actors like Meryl Streep in this play. Later in the 1970s, she played Winnie in Happy Days.

Later Career Highlights

In 1982, Irene Worth co-starred in the movie Deathtrap. She played a psychic character alongside Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve.

In 1984, director Sir Peter Hall asked her to return to the National Theatre. She played Volumnia in Coriolanus with Sir Ian McKellen. She later played Volumnia again in New York.

In 1991, she won her third Tony Award. This was for her role as Grandma Kurnitz in Neil Simon's play Lost in Yonkers. She later appeared in the movie version of this play.

In 1999, she was in the film Onegin. One of her last performances was in September 2001. She acted with Paul Scofield in I Take Your Hand in Mine in London. This play was based on the love letters of Anton Chekhov.

Dramatic Readings

In the mid-1960s, Irene Worth and John Gielgud performed dramatic readings in New York. They read from famous writers like T.S. Eliot and Shakespeare. As she got older, she became very good at these "recitals." She read from authors like Virginia Woolf and Noël Coward.

In the 1990s, she created a two-hour show called Portrait of Edith Wharton. She performed it by herself. She used only her voice to create different characters from Edith Wharton's life and writings.

Death and Memorial

Irene Worth passed away in 2002 at the age of 85. She had a second stroke in New York. She was survived by her two younger siblings and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service was held for her in New York City. Many famous people spoke at the service. These included Edward Albee, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, and Alan Rickman.

Awards and Recognition

Irene Worth received many awards for her acting:

• Daily Mail Television Award for The Lady from the Sea, 1953-54
• British Film Academy Award for Best British Actress, Orders to Kill 1958
• Page One Award, Toys in the Attic 1960
• Tony Award for Best Actress (Dramatic), Tiny Alice 1965
• Evening Standard Award, Suite in Three Keys 1966
• Variety Club of Great Britain Award, Heartbreak House 1967
• Plays and Players London Theatre Critics Award Best Actress, Heartbreak House 1967
• Tony Award for Best Actress, Sweet Bird of Youth 1975-76
• Joseph Jefferson Award Best Actress in a Play, Sweet Bird of Youth 1975-76
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress, The Cherry Orchard 1977
• OBIE Award, The Chalk Garden 1981-82
• Emmy Award, "Live From Lincoln Center: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center with Irene Worth and Horacio Gutiérrez" 1986
• OBIE Award, Sustained Achievement 1988-89
• Tony Award for Best Featured Actress, Lost in Yonkers 1991
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress, Lost in Yonkers 1991

Honors

In 1975, Irene Worth was given an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). This is a special award from the British government.

Filmography

• One Night with You (1948) as Lina Linari (her first film)
• Another Shore (1948) as Bucksie Vere-Brown
• Secret People (1952) as Miss Jackson
• Orders to Kill (1958) as Léonie
• The Scapegoat (1959) as Francoise
• Seven Seas to Calais (1962) as Queen Elizabeth I
• To Die in Madrid (1963, documentary) as Co-Narrator
• King Lear (1971) as Goneril
• Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) as The Queen Mother Marie Fedorovna
• Rich Kids (1979) as Madeline's Mother
• Happy Days (play) (1980, TV Movie) as Winnie
• Eyewitness (1981) as Mrs. Sokolow
• Deathtrap (1982) as Helga ten Dorp
• Separate Tables (1983, TV Movie)
• The Tragedy of Coriolanus (1984, TV Movie) as Volumnia
• Forbidden (1984) as Ruth Friedländer
• Fast Forward (1985) as Ida Sabol
• Lost in Yonkers (1993) as Grandma Kurnitz
• Just the Ticket (1998) as Mrs. Haywood
• Onegin (1999) as Princess Alina (her last film role)

See also

In Spanish: Irene Worth para niños