Everley Gregg

Everley Gregg was an English actress, born in Hampshire, who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art after school in Bristol and became known early for her work in plays by Noël Coward. Her first professional stage part was the maid in Coward's Easy Virtue in London; she toured and took West End roles, taking over as Val Power in The Matriarch from Phyllis Konstam and playing Louise in Private Lives. In 1935 she made her New York debut as Hilda James in Point Valaine, and she later appeared in seven roles in Coward's Tonight at 8.30 cycle. Her film debut came in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) as Catherine Parr, and David Lean cast her in In Which We Serve and then Brief Encounter (1945) as Dolly Messiter. In the 1950s she acted in BBC television dramas and comedies, and she worked until her final year. She died in 1959.