---
name: "Tessie O'Shea"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/tessie-oshea"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "13 March 1913"
died: "21 April 1995"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T04:48:03.512890+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."
---

# Tessie O'Shea

Actor. Born 13 March 1913 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. Died 21 April 1995.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 13 March 1913, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- **Died:** 21 April 1995
- **Also known as:** Teresa Mary "Tessie" O'Shea, Teresa Mary O'Shea
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tessie_O%27Shea, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q539596, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642697/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/123904

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!*](https://film.one/film/the-russians-are-coming-the-russians-are-coming.md) (70)

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

## Biography

Tessie O'Shea (born Teresa Mary O'Shea) was a Welsh entertainer and actress. Born in Cardiff in 1913, she began performing as a child and became a prominent music-hall singer and comedian, known for her theme song "Two Ton Tessie from Tennessee". She appeared on BBC radio and television, headlined at the London Palladium, and performed for British royalty and troops during the Second World War.

O'Shea appeared in several British films in the 1940s and 1950s, often as herself or in supporting roles, including *The Way Ahead* (1944) and *The Blue Lamp* (1950). She made her Broadway debut in 1963 in Noël Coward's *The Girl Who Came to Supper*, winning a Tony Award for best supporting actress. Her later film roles included Alice Foss in *The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming* (1966) and Mrs. Hobday in *Bedknobs and Broomsticks* (1971). She was married to David Rollo from 1940 and died in Florida in 1995.

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

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!* (1966), Fi1m 70, as Alice Foss — [page](https://film.one/film/the-russians-are-coming-the-russians-are-coming.md)

## Complete filmography (9)

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

- *Bedknobs and Broomsticks* (1971), as Mrs. Hobday
- *As Good Cooks Go* (1970), series, as Blodwen O'Reilly
- *The Best House in London* (1969), as Music Hall Singer
- *The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!* (1966), as Alice Foss — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/the-russians-are-coming-the-russians-are-coming.md)
- *Mr. Scrooge* (1964), as Mrs. Cratchit
- *The Shiralee* (1957), as Bella
- *The Liberace Show* (1952), series, Actor
- *Somewhere in Politics* (1948), as Daisy Smart
- *Holidays with Pay* (1948), as Pansy Rogers

---
© 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/tessie-oshea