Adrianne Allen was a renowned English stage actress, born on February 7, 1907, in Manchester, England. She pursued her education in France and Germany before training as an actress at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her graduation performance in 1926 caught the attention of Basil Dean, who cast her as Nina Vansittart in the Noel Coward play Easy Virtue.
Allen's early career was marked by her performances in several notable plays, including the original West End production of Private Lives, where she played the role of Sybil Chase, and the 1935 Broadway production of Pride and Prejudice, where she portrayed Elizabeth Bennet. She also appeared in several films, including Merrily We Go to Hell, and on Broadway in productions such as Cynara and The Shining Hour.
In her personal life, Allen was married twice. Her first marriage was to Raymond Massey, a fellow actor, in 1929, and the couple had two children, Daniel and Anna, who also became actors. The marriage ended in divorce in 1939. Allen then married an American lawyer, William Whitney, and later appeared on British television and in more films.
In the 1950s, Allen returned to the stage, starring alongside her daughter Anna in The Reluctant Debutante on Broadway in 1957. She continued to act until her retirement in 1958. Adrianne Allen passed away on September 14, 1993, in Montreux, Switzerland, at the age of 86, due to cancer.
