Baddeley, Hermione (1906–1986)

English actress. Born Hermione Clinton-Baddeley on November 13, 1906, in Broseley, Shropshire, England; died in 1986; daughter of W.H. Clinton-Baddeley and Louise (Bourdin) Clinton-Baddeley; sister of actressAngela Baddeley (1904–1976); educated privately; married David Tennant (divorced); married Captain J.H. Willis.

Hermione Baddeley began acting at age six. At age twelve, on March 11, 1918, she made her London debut as Le Nègre in La Boîte à Joujoux at the Court Theatre, but it was not until 1923 that she scored her first notable success as Florrie Small in The Likes of Her at the St. Martin's Theatre. In 1959, Baddeley made her New York debut at the Booth Theater when she took over the part of Helen in Shelagh Delaney 's A Taste of Honey. That same year, Baddeley was nominated for an Oscar for her best supporting performance in Room at the Top. On television, she appeared in the series "The Good Life" (1971) and played the part of Mrs. Naugatuck, the tart-tongued housekeeper in the series "Maude" (1974–77). Her films include A Daughter in Revolt (1926), The Guns of Loos (1928), Caste (1930), Royal Cavalcade (1935), Kipps (1941), It Always Rains on Sunday (1947), Brighton Rock (Young Scarface, 1947), Quartet (1948), No Room at the Inn (1948), Dear Mr. Prohack (1949), Passport to Pimlico (1949), The Woman in Question (1950), Mrs. Cratchit in Scrooge (A Christmas Carol, 1951), Tom Brown's School Days (1951), Time Gentlemen Please (1952), The Pickwick Papers (1952), The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954), Room at the Top (1959), Expresso Bongo (1959), Midnight Lace (1960), The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), Mary Poppins (1964), Harlow (1964), Marriage on the Rocks (1965), Do Not Disturb (1965), The Happiest Millionaire (1967), The Black Windmill (1974), C.H.O.M.P.S. (1979), There Goes the Bride (1980), and voiceover for The Secret of Nimh (1982).