20th Cent. Evelyn Laye

Elsie Evelyn Lay was born on 10 July 1900, in Bloomsbury, London, England. In August 1915, Evelyn Laye made her debut on stage as Nang-Ping in Mr. Wu, at the Theatre Royal, in Brighton. She played in Honi Soit, on 24 April 1916, at the East Ham Palace, in London. In 1918, in Going Up. In 1923, in Madame Pompadour. Evelyn Laye married the actor Sonnie Hale in 1926. In 1927, she was Cynthia Eden opposite Henry Victor in The Luck of the Navy. In 1928, she starred in The Dollar Princess, Blue Eyes and Lilac Time. In 1929, in The New Moon. Also in 1929, she made her Broadway debut in Noel Coward's Bitter Sweet. In 1930, Sonnie Hale left her for the actress Jessie Matthews. Laye and Hale were divorced later in 1930. In 1931, she starred as Lilli opposite John Boles in One Heavenly Night. In 1933, as Rosalinde Eisenstein in Waltz Time. Evelyn Laye married her second husband, Frank Lawton in 1934. In 1934, she was Madame Irela opposite Conchita Supervia (1895-1936), in Evensong and Princess Elaine in Alexandra. In 1935, Elizabeth opposite Ramon Novarro, in The Night is Young. In 1956, Evelyn Laye and Frank Lawton appeared in the sitcom My Husband and I. In 1957, she played on stage in Silver Wedding. In 1959, in The Amorous Prawn. In 1966, Blood Field. In 1969, on stage in Phil the Fluter. Her husband, Frank Lawton died in 1969. In 1970, she starred in Un Estate con Sentimento. In 1971, in Say Hello to Yesterday. In 1973, Evelyn Laye was awarded an OBE. In 1979, she was Millie in Second to the Right on Till Morning. In 1988, Lady Cunard in The Woman He Loved. Evelyn Laye died of respiratory failure, aged 95, on 17 February 1996, in London, England.

"Sex, unlike justice, should not be seen to be done." Evelyn Laye
18th Cent. Princess Amelia of Great Britain (10 July 1711 - 31 October 1786)
18-19th Cent. Maria Walpole, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (10 July 1736 - 2 August 1807)