Gale Sondergaard
![Gale Sondergaard](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/GaleSondergaard.jpg)
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Gifted, successful NY stage actress in Hollywood from 1934, primarily as Hollywood's premiere scene-stealing exotic villainess. A tall, dark-haired performer capable of displaying the haughty disdain of a New England Puritan ("Maid of Salem" 1937), the suspicious sneer of a haunted mansion's housekeeper ("The Cat and the Canary" 1939) or the feline deception of a cat-turned-human ("The Bluebird" 1940) with equal ease, Sondergaard also performed very well in such occasional sympathetic parts as Mrs. Dreyfus in "The Life of Emile Zola" (1937). She was memorable as one of Sherlock Holmes's most cunning nemeses in "Spider Woman" (1944). Politically active, and married to "Hollywood Ten" member Herbert Biberman, Sondergaard was blacklisted in the late 1940s but returned to act in several films of the late 60s and 70s as well as star in a one-woman off-Broadway show, "Woman." Her 1936 best supporting actress Academy Award (for "Anthony Adverse," her first film) was the first to be given in that category.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Short)
Life Events
1936
Made screen debut in "Anthony Adverse"
1949
Last film before being blacklisted, "East Side, West Side"
1969
Returned to screen after blacklisting in "Slaves" (written and directed by husband)
1970
Played Amanda Key on the ABC serial drama, "The Best of Everything"
1976
Appeared as herself in the documentary film, "Hollywood on Trial"
1980
Last film, "Echoes"
Photo Collections
Videos
Movie Clip
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Trailer
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Family
Companions
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com//img/global/logo-AFI.png)