Dame
Celia Johnson (
1908-
1982) was an English
actress, famous for her role in the
1945 film,
Brief Encounter, opposite
Trevor Howard. She was born in
Richmond, Surrey[?], and trained in acting at
RADA. Her stage début was in
Major Barbara[?] in
1928. By
1931, she was starring as
Ophelia in a
New York production of
Hamlet. She made relatively few films, of which
Brief Encounter is by far the best known. Other films include
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (
1969). She generally played a genteel and/or repressed Englishwoman, though she proved in many stage productions to be a talented comedienne.
She was knighted and became a Dame.