Hunt, Martita, 1900-1969

Epithet: actress

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001027.0x0003c5

Born in Argentina in 1900, Hunt made her first stage appearance in the 1920s with the Liverpool Repertory Company, before going on to work in the West End. She joined the Old Vic in 1929, where she played many roles from Lady Macbeth to Rosalind. She returned to work in the West End in the 1930s although her first major success in a leading role was in America in Jean Giraudoux's The Madwoman of Chaillot . She also appeared in many films, notably as Miss Havisham in David Lean's 1946 version of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations . Fame eluded her until 1948, when she was asked to play the lead in the Broadway production of The Madwoman of Chaillot . Her performance (also her Broadway debut) won her a Tony award. Hunt died in 1969 at her home in London.

From the guide to the Martita Hunt Collection, c.1910s - 1960s, (V&A Department of Theatre and Performance)