WINWOOD, ESTELLE

(1883-1984)

Born in Lee, England, Estelle Winwood began an acting career there in 1898 before emigrating to the United States in 1916, scoring her first notable success inJesse LynchWilliams's Pulitzer PRizE-winningWhy Marry? (1917). Winwood's beauty was frequently remarked upon. She performed inW. SomersetMaugham'sToo Many Husbands(1919) andThe Circle(1921), as well as new American and European dramas, includingMolière(1919),Anything Might Happen(1923),The Buccaneer(1925),The Chief Thing(1926),Trelawny of the"Wells" (1927),Fallen Angels(1927),The Furies(1928), andThe Admirable Crichton(1931). As she aged, Winwood made an easy transition into increasinglyeccentric characterroles on stage and screen, including Broadway roles inThe Distaff Side(1934),When We Are Married(1939),The Pirate* (1942),Ten Little Indians(1944),Lady Windermere's Fan(1946), andThe Madwoman of Chaillot(1948). Her remarkably long career continued on stage until 1966, when she appeared in the short-livedNathan Weinstein, Mystic, Connecticut. She continued to work in television* and motion pictures until 1976.