Mary Astor

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Mary Astor and Bette Davis in The Great Lie

Mary Astor

American actress

Also known as: Lucille Vasconcellos Langhanke

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 29, 2025 • Article History

Quick Facts

Original name:: Lucille Vasconcellos Langhanke

Born:: May 3, 1906, Quincy, Ill., U.S.

Died:: September 25, 1987, Woodland Hills, Calif. (aged 81)

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (1942); Academy Award (1942): Actress in a Supporting Role

Married To:: Kenneth Hawks (1928–1930 [his death]); Thomas Gordon Wheelock (1945–1955); Manuel del Campo (1937–1944); Franklyn Thorpe (1931–1935)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Those We Love" (1932); "I Am a Thief" (1934); "Fiesta" (1947); "Little Women" (1949); "Lady from Nowhere" (1936); "Beau Brummel" (1924); "The Murder of Dr. Harrigan" (1936); "Midnight" (1939); "The Hurricane" (1937); "Red Dust" (1932); "Hollywood" (1923); "The Sunset Derby" (1927); "Enticement" (1925); "The Rough Riders" (1927); "The Bright Shawl" (1923); "A Successful Calamity" (1932); "Buick-Electra Playhouse" (1960); "Trapped by Television" (1936); "Straight from the Heart" (1935); "The Royal Bed" (1931); "The Man Who Played God" (1922); "The Man with Two Faces" (1934); "Playing with Souls" (1925); "Dressed to Kill" (1928); "The Maltese Falcon" (1941); "Checkmate" (1962); "Dinky" (1935); "No Time to Marry" (1938); "Inez from Hollywood" (1924); "The Case of the Howling Dog" (1934); "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944); "Woman-Proof" (1923); "The Lash" (1930); "Dr. Kildare" (1962–1963); "The World Changes" (1933); "The United States Steel Hour" (1955–1960); "The Wise Guy" (1926); "Rawhide" (1961); "This Happy Feeling" (1958); "Young Ideas" (1943); "Heart to Heart" (1928); "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (1964); "Red Hot Tires" (1935); "Return to Peyton Place" (1961); "Don Juan" (1926); "Men of Chance" (1931); "Playhouse 90" (1957–1960); "Zane Grey Theater" (1957); "The Little Giant" (1933); "U.S. Marshal" (1958); "Two Arabian Knights" (1927); "The Palm Beach Story" (1942); "Listen, Darling" (1938); "Second Fiddle" (1923); "There's Always a Woman" (1938); "Dry Martini" (1928); "Runaway Bride" (1930); "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1937); "Kraft Television Theatre" (1951–1954); "Matinee Theatre" (1956); "Success" (1923); "Forever After" (1926); "The Fighting Adventurer" (1924); "Front Row Center" (1955); "Unguarded Women" (1924); "The Fighting Coward" (1924); "Kraft Television Theatre" (1955); "The Elgin Hour" (1955); "Yesterday and Today" (1953); "Woman Against Woman" (1938); "Climax!" (1955–1957); "Scarlet Saint" (1925); "Don Q Son of Zorro" (1925); "Turnabout" (1940); "Lux Video Theatre" (1956–1957); "The Philco Television Playhouse" (1954); "General Electric Theater" (1959); "The Defenders" (1963); "Other Men's Women" (1931); "Paradise for Three" (1938); "White Shoulders" (1931); "Ladies Love Brutes" (1930); "No Place to Go" (1927); "Thousands Cheer" (1943); "Cynthia" (1947); "New Year's Eve" (1929); "Dodsworth" (1936); "Convention City" (1933); "Playwrights '56" (1956); "Across the Pacific" (1942); "The Price of a Party" (1924); "The Great Lie" (1941); "The Rapids" (1922); "The Best of Broadway" (1954); "Sentimental Tommy" (1921); "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1958–1959); "Blonde Fever" (1944); "Youngblood Hawke" (1964); "The Pace That Thrills" (1925); "High Steppers" (1926); "Claudia and David" (1946); "Romance of the Underworld" (1928); "Desert Fury" (1947); "Upper World" (1934); "Danger" (1954); "The Power and the Prize" (1956); "Puritan Passions" (1923); "The Sin Ship" (1931); "Studio 57" (1956); "Show of Shows" (1929); "Sailors' Wives" (1928); "Oh, Doctor!" (1925); "A Stranger in My Arms" (1959); "And So They Were Married" (1936); "Producers' Showcase" (1955); "Easy to Love" (1934); "Brigham Young" (1940); "Burke's Law" (1963); "Cass Timberlane" (1947); "Return of the Terror" (1934); "Jennie Gerhardt" (1933); "Any Number Can Play" (1949); "3-Ring Marriage" (1928); "The Lost Squadron" (1932); "Star Stage" (1956); "Robert Montgomery Presents" (1956); "Man of Iron" (1935); "Behind Office Doors" (1931); "Justice" (1955); "The Kennel Murder Case" (1933); "Thriller" (1960); "The Devil's Hairpin" (1957); "Holiday" (1930); "Rose of the Golden West" (1927); "The Marriage Maker" (1923); "The Woman from Hell" (1929); "The Sea Tiger" (1927); "John Smith" (1922); "Smart Woman" (1931); "Act of Violence" (1949); "A Kiss Before Dying" (1956); "Ben Casey" (1963); "Studio One" (1954–1958); "Page Miss Glory" (1935)

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Mary Astor (born May 3, 1906, Quincy, Ill., U.S.—died September 25, 1987, Woodland Hills, Calif.) was an American motion-picture and stage actress noted for her delicate, classic beauty and a renowned profile that earned her the nickname “The Cameo Girl.” With the ability to play a variety of characters ranging from villains to heroines to matrons, Astor worked in film from the silent era to the 1960s.

Astor’s early career was directed by her German-immigrant father, who entered her into a beauty contest at age 14; a year later she appeared in her first film, Sentimental Tommy (1921), although her role was cut from the release print. After a few bit parts in two-reelers, Astor was selected by John Barrymore to costar in Beau Brummel (1924). The two also began a lively, romantic offscreen relationship, with the legendary, 40-year-old Barrymore helping to hone the teenage Astor’s natural acting gifts. After the affair ended, Astor starred again with Barrymore in Don Juan (1926), the first silent movie with sound-on-disc Vitaphone music and sound effects. Perfecting her vocal technique in several stage productions, Astor made a successful transition to talkies.

Astor performed as leading lady, but in reality she was a character actress. She possessed an intelligent, natural acting style and always managed to rise above lacklustre material. Although her long career included a wide range of roles, she was often typecast as either a beautiful damsel in distress or a sympathetic matron. She demonstrated her acting range, however, in her most famous role: the lovely, devious femme fatale Brigid O’Shaughnessy in John Huston’s film noir masterpiece, The Maltese Falcon (1941), opposite Humphrey Bogart. That same year, her wicked characterization as selfish concert pianist Sandra Kovak in The Great Lie (1941) earned Astor an Oscar for best supporting actress.

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

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Astor’s private life contained its share of drama and notoriety: four marriages, three divorces, alcoholism, suicide attempts, and one of Hollywood’s biggest sex scandals: her 1936 divorce and custody case predicated on her well-publicized affair with playwright George S. Kaufman. Though the scandal threatened Astor’s career, she did much of her best work in the years that followed.

Astor authored two books of memoirs, My Story (1959) and A Life on Film (1971), as well as several works of fiction.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.