| Intro | British actress (1899-1923) | ||||
| Was |
Actor Film actor Stage actor |
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| From | United Kingdom | ||||
| Type | Film, TV, Stage & Radio | ||||
| Gender | female | ||||
| Birth | 8 October 1899, London, UK | ||||
| Death |
9 December 1923, Broadstairs, United Kingdom (aged 24 years) |
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| Star sign | Libra | ||||
| Family |
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| Education |
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Margherita Cecilia Brigida Lucia Maria Albanesi (8 October 1899—9 December 1923) was a British stage and film actress.
Life and career
She was born in London on 8 October 1899. Her mother was Effie Adelaide Rowlands, a writer, and her father was Chevalier Carlo Albanesi, an Italian violinist. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made her film debut in 1919.
She enjoyed a successful theatre career, starring in plays such as Galsworthy’s The First and the Last, opposite Owen Nares. She was soon being hailed by critics as one of the brightest prospects in British acting.
Death
After making just six films, Albanesi died at the age of 24 in Broadstairs, Kent, on 9 December 1923, allegedly as a result of an illegal abortion.
Albanesi had a relationship with the theatre and film producer Basil Dean who continued to be obsessed with her after her death. Dean was first attracted to his wife the actress Victoria Hopper because of her physical resemblance to Albanesi and cast her in a number of his productions. His final film as a director 21 Days was based on a play, The First and the Last on which he had worked with Albanesi.
Selected filmography
- The Romance of Old Bill, dir. George Pearson (1918)
- Mr. Wu, dir. Maurice Elvey (1919)
- Darby and Joan, dir. Percy Nash (1920)
- The Skin Game, dir. B. E. Doxat-Pratt (1921)
- The Great Day, dir. Hugh Ford (1921)
- Det omringade huset (The House Surrounded), dir. Victor Sjöström (1922)