---
name: "Mary Forbes"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/mary-forbes"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "30 December 1882"
died: "22 July 1974"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 9
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-09-20T00:05:50.867592+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Mary Forbes

Actor. Born 30 December 1882 in Hornsey, Middlesex [now in Haringey, London], England, UK. Died 22 July 1974.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 30 December 1882, Hornsey, Middlesex [now in Haringey, London], England, UK
- **Died:** 22 July 1974
- **Active:** 1932–1938
- **Also known as:** Ethel Louise Young
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 9: 6 acting, 3 other
- **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as actor, over 6 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 77 (8), 1940s 64 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 79 to 79 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Romance 4, Comedy 3, Drama 3, Adventure 1, History 1, War 1
- **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $12m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Forbes, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q975586, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0285376/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/81941

## Streaming the US now

- **The Roku Channel:** [*The Awful Truth*](https://film.one/film/the-awful-truth.md) (89)
- **Apple TV:** [*A Farewell to Arms*](https://film.one/film/a-farewell-to-arms.md) (80)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Mary Forbes (born Ethel Louise Young) was a British-American actress. She appeared in more than 130 films between 1919 and 1958, often in supporting roles as dowagers or society women. Her credited film roles include Miss Van Campen in *A Farewell to Arms* (1932), Mrs. Anthony Kirby in *You Can't Take It with You* (1938), and Lady Lavenham (uncredited) in *Ninotchka* (1939).

Forbes made her stage debut in London in 1908 and her Broadway debut in 1913. She had several years of stage experience in Britain and America before moving into films. Two of her children from her first marriage, Ralph Forbes and Brenda Forbes, also became actors.

She became a naturalised United States citizen in 1943. Forbes died in Beaumont, California, in 1974.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (9)

### Performed in (6) — the average rests on these

- *You Can't Take It with You* (1938), Fi1m 70, as Mrs. Anthony Kirby — [page](https://film.one/film/you-cant-take-it-with-you.md)
- *Stage Door* (1937), Fi1m 85, as Cast of Stage Play — [page](https://film.one/film/stage-door.md)
- *The Awful Truth* (1937), Fi1m 89, as Mrs. Vance — [page](https://film.one/film/the-awful-truth.md)
- *Captain Blood* (1935), Fi1m 80, as Mrs. Steed — [page](https://film.one/film/captain-blood.md)
- *Les Misérables* (1935), Fi1m 74, as Mlle. Baptiseme — [page](https://film.one/film/les-miserables-1935.md)
- *A Farewell to Arms* (1932), Fi1m 80, as Miss Van Campen — [page](https://film.one/film/a-farewell-to-arms.md)

### Also credited (3) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *All This, and Heaven Too* (1940), Fi1m 64, as Lady at the Theatre (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/all-this-and-heaven-too.md)
- *Ninotchka* (1939), Fi1m 82, as Lady Lavenham (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/ninotchka.md)
- *Cavalcade* (1933), Fi1m 57, as Duchess of Churt (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/cavalcade.md)

## Complete filmography (108)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Houseboat* (1958), as British Society Woman (uncredited)
- *Suspicion* (1957), series, as Mrs. Merton
- *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, as Mrs. Herbert Winthrop
- *Les Miserables* (1952), as Nun (uncredited)
- *You Gotta Stay Happy* (1948), as Aunt Martha
- *The Black Arrow* (1948), as Nun (uncredited)
- *The Judge Steps Out* (1947), as Margaret (uncredited)
- *It Had to Be You* (1947), as Mrs. Kimberly (uncredited)
- *The Exile* (1947), as Second Court Lady
- *Ivy* (1947), as Lady Crail (uncredited)
- *Cigarette Girl* (1947), as Mrs. Halstead
- *Terror by Night* (1946), as Lady Margaret Carstairs
- *Lady on a Train* (1945), Actor
- *Earl Carroll Vanities* (1945), as Queen Mother Elena
- *I'll Remember April* (1945), as Mrs. Barrington
- *The Picture of Dorian Gray* (1945), as Lady Agatha
- *Tender Comrade* (1944), as Jo's Mother (uncredited)
- *Jane Eyre* (1943), as Mrs. Eshton
- *Dangerous Blondes* (1943), as Isabel Fleming (uncredited)
- *Mr. Lucky* (1943), as War Relief Worker (uncredited)
- *Two Tickets to London* (1943), as Dame Dunne Hartley
- *Sherlock Holmes in Washington* (1943), as Mrs. Pettibone
- *The Great Impersonation* (1942), as Lady Leslie Clayfair
- *Almost Married* (1942), as Mrs. Marvin
- *This Above All* (1942), as Vicar's Wife
- *Twin Beds* (1942), Actor
- *Klondike Fury* (1942), as Mrs. Langton
- *Nothing but the Truth* (1941), as Mrs. Ralston
- *Back Street* (1941), as Mrs. Williams
- *South of Suez* (1940), as Mrs. Putnam
- *All This, and Heaven Too* (1940), as Lady at the Theatre (uncredited) — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/all-this-and-heaven-too.md)
- *Private Affairs* (1940), as Mrs. Stanley
- *Blame It on Love* (1940), as Mrs. Wadsworth
- *Florian* (1940), as Grandmother
- *Laddie* (1940), as Mrs. Anna Pryor
- *Ninotchka* (1939), as Lady Lavenham (uncredited) — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/ninotchka.md)
- *Hollywood Cavalcade* (1939), as Mrs. Gaynes
- *The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes* (1939), as Lady Conyngham
- *These Glamour Girls* (1939), as Mrs. Van Reichton (uncredited)
- *I Stole a Million* (1939), as Flower Shop Customer (uncredited)
- *The Sun Never Sets* (1939), as Mrs. Randolph
- *Outside These Walls* (1939), as Gertrude Bishop
- *Three Smart Girls Grow Up* (1939), as Mrs. Withers
- *The Ice Follies of 1939* (1939), as Lady Hilda (uncredited)
- *Risky Business* (1939), as Mrs. Jameson
- *You Can't Cheat an Honest Man* (1939), as Mrs. Bel-Goodie
- *Fast and Loose* (1939), as Mrs. Torrent
- *Three Loves Has Nancy* (1938), as Mrs. Hanson
- *You Can't Take It with You* (1938), as Mrs. Anthony Kirby — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/you-cant-take-it-with-you.md)
- *Always Goodbye* (1938), as Aunt Martha Marshall
- *The Rage of Paris* (1938), as Woman in Opera Box (uncredited)
- *Outside of Paradise* (1938), as Mrs. Stonewall
- *Everybody Sing* (1938), as Miss Colvin
- *What Do You Think? (Number Three)* (1938), as Mrs. Dosier - John's Mother (uncredited)
- *The Awful Truth* (1937), as Mrs. Vance — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/the-awful-truth.md)
- *Stage Door* (1937), as Cast of Stage Play — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/stage-door.md)
- *One Hundred Men and a Girl* (1937), as Concert Hall Patron
- *The Life of the Party* (1937), as Mrs. Saunders
- *Wee Willie Winkie* (1937), as Mrs. MacMonachie
- *Another Dawn* (1937), as Mrs. Lydia Benton
- *Women of Glamour* (1937), as Mrs. Stark
- *Theodora Goes Wild* (1936), as Mrs. Wyatt (uncredited)
- *Wedding Present* (1936), as Mrs. Dodacker
- *The White Angel* (1936), as Lady Disapproving of Florence #1 (uncredited)
- *Captain Blood* (1935), as Mrs. Steed — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/captain-blood.md)
- *The Widow from Monte Carlo* (1935), as Lady Holloway
- *The Perfect Gentleman* (1935), as Lady Clyffe-Pembrook
- *Rendezvous* (1935), as Lady Cavendish (uncredited)
- *Anna Karenina* (1935), as Princess Sorokina
- *Stranded* (1935), as Grace Dean (uncredited)
- *Dizzy Dames* (1935), as Mrs. Stokes
- *Les Misérables* (1935), as Mlle. Baptiseme — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/les-miserables-1935.md)
- *Laddie* (1935), as Mrs. Anna Pryor
- *Roberta* (1935), as (uncredited)
- *We Live Again* (1934), as Mrs. Kortchagin
- *Happiness Ahead* (1934), as Mrs. Travis
- *Two Heads on a Pillow* (1934), as Mrs. Caroline Devonshire
- *A Lost Lady* (1934), as Mrs. Hardy (uncredited)
- *British Agent* (1934), as Lady Catherine Trehearne
- *She Was a Lady* (1934), as Lady Diana Vane
- *Blind Date* (1934), as Mrs. Hartwell
- *Shock* (1934), as Lady Heatherly
- *Most Precious Thing in Life* (1934), as Mrs. Kelsey
- *Sadie McKee* (1934), as Mrs. Alderson (uncredited)
- *You Can't Buy Everything* (1934), as Kate Farley
- *Bombshell* (1933), as Mrs. Middleton
- *Cavalcade* (1933), as Duchess of Churt (uncredited) — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/film/cavalcade.md)
- *A Farewell to Arms* (1932), as Miss Van Campen — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/a-farewell-to-arms.md)
- *Vanity Fair* (1932), as Mrs. Sedley
- *The Silent Witness* (1932), as Lady Howard
- *Working Girls* (1931), as Mrs. Johnstone
- *The Brat* (1931), as Mrs. Forester
- *Chances* (1931), as Mrs. Ingleside
- *Born to Love* (1931), as The Duchess (uncredited)
- *The Man Who Came Back* (1931), as Mrs. Gaynes
- *The Devil to Pay!* (1930), as Mrs. Hope (uncredited)
- *Abraham Lincoln* (1930), as Actress (uncredited)
- *East Is West* (1930), as Mrs. Benson
- *Holiday* (1930), as Mrs. Pritchard Ames (uncredited)
- *So This Is London* (1930), as Lady Worthing
- *Strictly Unconventional* (1930), as Mrs. Anna Shenstone
- *Sunny Side Up* (1929), as Mrs. Cromwell
- *The Trespasser* (1929), as Mrs. Ferguson
- *The Thirteenth Chair* (1929), as Lady Alice Crosby
- *Her Private Life* (1929), as Ladu Wildering
- *Women Who Win* (1919), Actor
- *The Lady Clare* (1919), as Lady Julia Medwin
- *The Woman's Portion* (1918), as Lizzie

## Gallery

- ![Mary Forbes](https://film.one/media/person/1225942/gallery-5b0630dd419a.jpg) Mary Forbes — Film screenshot (Universal Pictures), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Mary_Forbes_%281883-1974%29_in_Terror_by_Night_in_1946.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Mary Forbes in Terror by Night - cropped screenshot (1946)](https://film.one/media/person/1225942/gallery-b07ccae1af7e.jpg) Mary Forbes in Terror by Night - cropped screenshot (1946) — Film screenshot (Universal Pictures), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Mary_Forbes_in_Terror_by_Night_%281946%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Mary Forbes in Terror by Night - cropped screenshot (1946)](https://film.one/media/person/1225942/gallery-1942e2f6b211.png) Mary Forbes in Terror by Night - cropped screenshot (1946) — Film screenshot (Universal Pictures), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/Mary_Forbes_in_Terror_by_Night_%281946%29.png/1280px-Mary_Forbes_in_Terror_by_Night_%281946%29.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Mary Forbes](https://film.one/media/person/1225942/gallery-43b7dc8f1b77.jpg) Mary Forbes — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/mary-forbes