Norma Varden was born in turn-of-the-century London to a retired sea captain and his much-younger wife, actress Norma Varden, who was a piano prodigy and studied in Paris.
As a teenager, she performed in concert in England and later studied at the Guildhall School of Music, where she developed a passion for acting.
Her first stage appearance was in a production of Peter Pan, where she played the role of Mrs. Darling, who was actually younger than the actors playing her children.
Throughout her career, Norma Varden played a variety of mature, lady-like roles that were often much older than she was, including dramatic and comedic parts.
She performed Shakespeare in repertory and was cast in dramatic plays such as The Wandering Jew and Hamlet, where she played the role of the Player Queen.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Norma Varden found success in the comedies ANight Like This and Turkey Time, and later recreated these roles on British film.
She went on to prove herself as a minor but avid scene-stealer in various movies, including Evergreen, The Iron Duke, Stormy Weather, and East Meets West.
In the 1940s, Norma Varden visited California with her ailing, widowed mother and decided to permanently settle, finding herself in demand as an older woman with a silver hair.
She continued to work in film and television, taking on roles such as the wife of Robert Benchley in The Major and the Minor, the vile Lady Abbott in Forever Amber, and the giddy socialite in Strangers on a Train.
Norma Varden also appeared in radio and television comedies, often as a foil to comedians such as Lucille Ball and Jack Benny.
She had recurring roles in shows such as Mister Ed, The Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, and Batman, and retired from acting in the 1970s.
Norma Varden died of heart failure in 1989, a day before her 91st birthday.
