The great actress Gladys Cooper (1888-1971) Her acting career spanned 70 years on stage, movies & television. In 1967, at the age of 79, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). Her last major success on the stage was at age 82, in 1970–71 in the role of Mrs. St. Maugham in Enid Bagnold's The Chalk Garden, a role she had created on Broadway and in the West End in 1955–56
