Claim: Angela Lansbury was born to a family that was upper-middle-class.

Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury , -LRB- born 16 October 1925 -RRB- is a British-American-Irish actress who has appeared in theatre , television and film , as well as a producer , voice actress , singer , and songwriter . Her career has spanned seven decades , much of it in the United States , and her work has attracted international attention .   Lansbury was born to an upper-middle-class family in central London , the daughter of actress Moyna Macgill and politician Edgar Lansbury . To escape the Blitz , in 1940 she moved to the United States with her mother and two younger brothers , and studied acting in New York City . Proceeding to Hollywood in 1942 , she signed to MGM and obtained her first film roles , in Gaslight -LRB- 1944 -RRB- and The Picture of Dorian Gray -LRB- 1945 -RRB- , earning her two Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe Award . She appeared in eleven further MGM films , mostly in minor roles , and after her contract ended in 1952 she began supplementing her cinematic work with theatrical appearances . Although largely seen as a B-list star during this period , her appearance in the film The Manchurian Candidate -LRB- 1962 -RRB- received widespread acclaim and is cited as being one of her finest performances . Moving into musical theatre , Lansbury finally gained stardom for playing the leading role in the Broadway musical Mame -LRB- 1966 -RRB- , which earned her a range of awards and established her as a gay icon .   Amid difficulties in her personal life , Lansbury moved from California to County Cork , Ireland , in 1970 , and continued with a variety of theatrical and cinematic appearances throughout that decade . These included leading roles in the stage musicals Gypsy , Sweeney Todd , and The King and I , as well as in the hit Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks -LRB- 1971 -RRB- . Moving into television , she achieved worldwide fame as fictional writer and sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the American whodunit series Murder , She Wrote , which ran for twelve seasons from 1984 until 1996 , becoming one of the longest-running and most popular detective drama series in television history . Through Corymore Productions , a company that she co-owned with her husband Peter Shaw , Lansbury assumed ownership of the series and was its executive producer for the final four seasons . She also moved into voice work , thereby contributing to animated films such as Disney 's Beauty and the Beast -LRB- 1991 -RRB- . Since then , she has toured in a variety of international theatrical productions and continued to make occasional film appearances .   In 2014 , Lansbury was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in a ceremony at Windsor Castle for `` services to drama , charitable work , and philanthropy . '' Lansbury has received an Honorary Oscar and has won five Tony Awards , six Golden Globes , an Olivier Award , and one Grammy Award . She has also been nominated for numerous other industry awards , including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress on three occasions , and various Primetime Emmy Awards on eighteen occasions . She has been the subject of three biographies .