Gale Sondergaard's on-screen presence was characterized by her sly, manipulative, and sinister performances, solidifying her reputation as one of the most talented character actresses in cinematic history.
Educated at the University of Minnesota, Sondergaard married director Herbert J. Biberman and followed him to Hollywood, despite having no intention of pursuing a film career. However, her life took a dramatic turn when she was discovered by director Mervyn LeRoy, who offered her a key role in his film Anthony Adverse (1936),which earned her the first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Initially, LeRoy had cast Sondergaard as the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz (1939),but she felt she was not suited for the role. Instead, she co-starred alongside Paul Muni in The Life of Emile Zola (1937),a film that won the Best Picture award in 1937.
Sondergaard's most iconic role was that of the cunning and sinister wife of a husband murdered by Bette Davis' character in The Letter (1940). Her subsequent films, including Juarez (1939),The Mark of Zorro (1940),The Black Cat (1941),and Anna and the King of Siam (1946),further cemented her status as a talented character actress.
Tragically, Sondergaard's career was cut short when she was blacklisted during the McCarthy-inspired "Red Scare" hysteria in the 1950s, after refusing to testify. She eventually returned to films in the 1960s and made her final appearance in the 1983 film Echoes.
Gale Sondergaard passed away at the age of 86 at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, due to an undisclosed illness.
