Editing Diana Wynyard (section)

==Life and career==
Born in [[Lewisham]], [[South London]], Wynyard began her career on the stage. After performing in [[Liverpool]] and London with the Liverpool Repertory Company and the [[Hamilton Deane|Hamilton Deane Repertory Company]],<ref name="hyf">{{cite book|last1=Endres|first1=Stacey|last2=Cushman|first2=Robert|title=Hollywood at Your Feet: The Story of the World-Famous Chinese Theater|date=2009|publisher=Pomegranate Press|isbn=9780938817642|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CRiQCgAAQBAJ&q=%22Diana+Wynyard%22&pg=PT175|access-date=30 April 2017|language=en}}</ref> she performed on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], appearing first in ''[[Rasputin and the Empress]]'' in 1932, with [[Ethel Barrymore|Ethel]], [[John Barrymore|John]], and [[Lionel Barrymore]]. She appeared in the film version, beginning her brief Hollywood career.

[[20th Century Fox#Fox Film Corporation|Fox Film Corporation]] then borrowed her for their lavish film version of [[Noël Coward]]'s stage spectacle ''[[Cavalcade (1933 film)|Cavalcade]]'' (1933). As the noble wife and mother she aged gracefully against a background of the [[Second Boer War|Boer War]], the sinking of the [[RMS Titanic|''Titanic'']], the [[First World War]], and the arrival of the [[Jazz Age]]. With this performance, she became the first British actress to be nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]]. After a handful of film roles, including playing [[John Barrymore]]'s old flame in ''[[Reunion in Vienna]]'', she returned to Britain, but concentrated on theatre work, including roles as [[Charlotte Brontë]] in [[Clemence Dane]]'s ''[[Wild Decembers (play)|Wild Decembers]]'', in ''Sweet Aloes'', and as Gilda in the British premiere of [[Noël Coward]]'s ''[[Design for Living]]''.

She was tempted to return to the screen to play opposite [[Ralph Richardson]] in ''[[On the Night of the Fire]]'' (1939), a film directed by [[Brian Desmond Hurst]]. Her best remembered success was as the frightened heroine of ''[[Gaslight (1940 film)|Gaslight]]'' (1940), the first film version of [[Patrick Hamilton (writer)|Patrick Hamilton]]'s play ''[[Gas Light]]''. This was followed by roles opposite [[Clive Brook]] in ''[[Freedom Radio]]'', [[John Gielgud]] in ''[[The Prime Minister (film)|The Prime Minister]]'' and [[Michael Redgrave]] in ''[[Kipps (1941 film)|Kipps]]'' (all 1941), directed by [[Carol Reed]], later her first husband.