Angela Lansbury Put Her Family First & Gave Up Acting For A Year — Her '80s Comeback Made Her Rich

Jan 06, 2022 by apost team

Angela Lansbury has been a pinnacle figure in the film, television and theater industries for almost eight decades. The legendary Dame first appeared on the scene in 1944. A mere 17 years old, she immediately made a striking impression playing a flirtatious maid in “Gaslight,” a classic psychological thriller. More than 75 years and countless triumphs later, she is universally regarded as an icon and an actress of incredible strength and diversity.

Throughout her life, Lansbury has made her way into the hearts and minds of many fans, critics, and loved ones. Her professionalism and dedication toward her craft have made her a favorite among many, and her strong yet polite personality has helped her keep stable relationships in both her personal and professional environments.

Some of her most notable roles include her time on screen in the film “Blue Hawaii,” the television series “Murder, She Wrote,” and her role as Mrs. Potts in the Disney animated film “Beauty and the Beast” and its follow-up movies and projects. Her claim to fame came from portraying various motherly characters, but Lansbury has also been able to show off more of her range and impressive skills throughout her career.

Whether it’s in a movie or television show or on the Broadway stage, Lansbury has been captivating audiences for many years now and is still just as brilliantly talented and successful as ever. At 95 years old, Lansbury is lucky enough to be celebrating nearly an astonishing 80 years of acting and has shown no signs of slowing down.

We take a look at her wonderful family and estimated net worth today at the age of 96. 

Lansbury is one of the most universally loved actresses of today. Not only does she have an impressive array of work under her belt, but her record of achievements and awards show that she is no ordinary actress. Today, her net worth is estimated to be about $70 million as per Celebrity Net Worth. 

With such a busy career, it's a wonder Angela had time for a personal life at all. But in fact, she was even married twice. As she found early success in Hollywood, Angela first married Cromwell, a fellow actor, in 1945 when she was just 19 and he was 35. However, the relationship wasn't meant to be and by 1946 they had gotten divorced. The pair didn't discuss why their union hadn't worked at the time, but years later Angela revealed that it wasn't only their age gap that was an obstacle, but the fact that Cromwell was gay. Angela told Radio Times, as reported by Attitude:

"I had no idea that I was marrying a gay man ... I found him such an attractive individual. He wanted to marry, he was fascinated with me, but only because of what he had seen on the screen."

She added 

"It didn't injure or damage me in any way, because he maintained a friendship with me and my future husband (Peter Shaw) ... It was just a terrible error I made as a very young woman. But I don't regret it."

Cromwell died of liver cancer in 1960. However, Angela found true love soon after with Peter, an actor and producer who she married in 1949. Her marriage to him proved to be the big one. Peter already had a son from his first marriage, David Shaw, and Angela took him in as her own.

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 David once said:

“She’s a great lady. I came in and she didn’t have to have me. It was an incredible thing to do. She always puts family first.”

Since the couple had plans for more children, Angela gave birth to her son Anthony Shaw in 1952, and the next year, a daughter named Deirdre Shaw. 

However, both she and her husband had to make a difficult decision to move their family away from the US when their two children, Anthony and Deirdre, became heavily involved with drugs in the late 1960s. Deirdre was also involved with the infamous Charles Manson family. Angela recalled, “It started with cannabis but moved on to heroin. It pains me to say, but Deirdre was in with a crowd led by Manson.”

The entire family moved to Ireland for a fresh start. Angela said:

“We really had to get rid of California and this drug-rich life. When we got to Ireland it was like we had started a new life. It gave us the time we needed to come back to earth. I bought a house in Cork. We started working in the garden and I learned to cook. I cooked for the first time in my life. I used products from my own garden. We started a whole new life.“

The move ended up being just what Anthony and Deirdre needed. Angela shared:

 “Anthony pulled out of his bad habits quickly. It took Deirdre a little longer, but she eventually got married and she and her husband run an Italian restaurant in L.A.”

However, the family bounced back and both kids are doing much better today. It goes to show that despite being a public figure, Lansbury always puts her family first. 

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