Anna Massey, the versatile actress made famous by her roles in Peeping Tom and The Importance of Being Earnest, died of cancer on Sunday.
Massey had a long and impressive career in theatre, film and television.
She first acted on stage as a teenager, going on to experience several formidable highlights – winning a British Academy TV Award for Best Actress for her role in the BBC’s 1986 adaptation of Anita Brookner’s Hotel du Lac.
She has also worked with several icons of film, including Alfred Hitchcock ( Frenzy ), and Otto Preminger on underrated Bunny Lake Is Missing .
Not one to shy away from risky projects, she worked on several interesting if flawed films throughout the noughties and was particularly impressive in psychological thriller The Machinist and genre plunder-piece The Oxford Murders .
Her performances and outlook on life remained plucky to the end. On the matter of aging she once remarked, “I think however old and blind and prune-like one may look, the spirit that goes on inside you stays young and flirtatious.”
A devoted mother and wife, she is survived by her husband, Uri Andres, and son, Dan Huggins.
