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Ethel Barrymore won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1945 for None But the Lonely Heart. She was the second of three children of Maurice and Georgiana Barrymore and made her stage debut in 1894. She supported Actors Equity and joined the 1919 actors strike. She appeared with her brothers in only one film, Rasputin and the Empress 1932. She died in 1959 at age 79 in Beverly Hills.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Ethel Barrymore — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Ethel Barrymore by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Ethel Barrymore — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
On August 15, 1879, Ethel Barrymore was born in Philadelphia to actors Georgiana Drew and Maurice Barrymore. Her mother’s family, the Drews, were a theatrical dynasty. Ethel initially planned to become a concert pianist, but she made her stage debut in New York in 1894 at age 15. Her older brother Lionel began acting early, and younger brother John also became a star. The family’s theatrical lineage influenced her career path.
Barrymore made her stage debut during the 1894 season in New York City. She gained acclaim for her role in Clyde Fitch’s Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines in 1901. She later starred in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in 1905 and The Constant Wife in 1926. Her first film appearance was in The Nightingale in 1914, but she prioritized stage work for years. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for None But the Lonely Heart in 1944. She also appeared in films like Pinky 1949 and Portrait of Jennie 1948, and worked in television in her later years.
Barrymore married stockbroker Russell Griswold Colt in 1909. The couple had three children: Samuel Colt, Ethel Barrymore Colt, and John Drew Colt. They divorced in 1923. She was a devout Roman Catholic and never remarried. She turned down a marriage proposal from Winston Churchill, reportedly because she thought he had no future. She was great-aunt of actress Drew Barrymore. She had a long-standing feud with gossip columnist Walter Winchell over a negative screen test review.
The Ethel Barrymore Theatre, named for her, opened in New York in 1928. She and brother Lionel are the only brother-sister pair to win Oscars in acting categories. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She advocated for actors’ rights through her work with Actors Equity and the 1919 strike.
Browse the complete filmography of Ethel Barrymore — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by Ethel Barrymore — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Ethel Barrymore — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
You Must Learn Day by Day, Year by Year, to Broaden Your Horizons. the More Things You Love, the More You Are Interested In, the More You Enjoy, the More You Are Indignant About the More You Have Left When Anything Happens.
We Who Play, Who Entertain for a Few Years, What Can We Leave That Will Last?
To Be a Success an Actress Must Have the Face of Venus, the Brain of Minerva, the Grace of Terpsichore, the Memory of Macaulay, the Figure of Juno and the Hide of a Rhinoceros.
Half the People in Hollywood Are Dying to Be Discovered and the Other Half Are Afraid They Will Be.
You Grow up the Day You Have Your First Real Laugh at Yourself.
Little-known facts about Ethel Barrymore — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Winston Churchill proposed marriage to Barrymore, but she refused, believing he had little future.
She is great-aunt of actress Drew Barrymore.
Barrymore and her brother Lionel were the first brother-sister pair to win Oscars in acting categories.
She was raised Roman Catholic after her mother converted, and she remained devout; she never remarried after her divorce because it was forbidden by the church.
She returned to work one month after giving birth to her son Samuel Colt to perform in the Broadway production of Tante.
The three Barrymore siblings appeared together in only one film: Rasputin and the Empress 1932.
Her character dies in three of her four Oscar-nominated films.
She had a long feud with columnist Walter Winchell after he criticized her 1930 screen test at Paramount.
Daughter of Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Barrymore; granddaughter of Louisa Drew and John Drew; niece of Sidney Drew; cousin of S. Rankin Drew.
In 1951 she accepted the Oscar for best actress on behalf of Judy Holliday, who was absent.
She was the 23rd actress to receive an Academy Award; she won Best Supporting Actress for None But the Lonely Heart at the 17th Academy Awards on March 15, 1945.
Aunt of John Drew Barrymore and Diana Barrymore.
A biography focusing on her movie career appears in Axel Nissen’s book Actresses of a Certain Character.
She and Lionel are the only brother-sister Oscar winners.
Mother of Samuel Colt, Ethel Colt, and John Drew Colt.
Screen, stage, and television actress.
In her most important films her character was often a sick woman, sometimes bedridden and dying.
In Italy she was often dubbed by Giovanna Scotto, Tina Lattanzi, Lola Braccini, and Wanda Capodaglio.
She had one grandchild, John Drew Miglietta, born September 10, 1946, via daughter Ethel Colt.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Ethel Barrymore.
Celebrities similar to Ethel Barrymore — same craft, ranked by reach.
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