---
name: "Vivien Merchant"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/vivien-merchant"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "22 July 1929"
died: "3 October 1982"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T04:40:29.197895+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."
---

# Vivien Merchant

Actor. Born 22 July 1929 in Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK. Died 3 October 1982.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 22 July 1929, Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK
- **Died:** 3 October 1982
- **Also known as:** Ada Brand Thomson
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivien_Merchant, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q266397, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0580357/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/35314

## Biography

Vivien Merchant (born Ada Brand Thomson) was an English actress. She began her career in 1942 and performed in repertory theatre before gaining prominence on stage and in film from the 1950s. She married playwright Harold Pinter in 1956; they divorced in 1980.

Merchant appeared in many of Pinter's stage productions, including the 1965 West End and 1973 screen versions of *The Homecoming*. Her film roles included Lily Clamacraft in *Alfie* (1966), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles; Rosalind in *Accident* (1967); Mrs Oxford in *Frenzy* (1972); and Maureen Johnson in *The Offence* (1973). She received a Tony Award nomination for the 1967 Broadway production of *The Homecoming*.

She died in London on 3 October 1982.

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

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Alfie* (1966), Fi1m 79, as Lily Clamacraft — [page](https://film.one/film/alfie.md)

## Complete filmography (33)

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

- *A Tale of Two Cities* (1980), series, as Miss Pross
- *Breakaway* (1980), series, as Isabel Black
- *Secret Army* (1977), series, as Mlle. Gunet
- *The Man in the Iron Mask* (1977), as Reine Maria Theresa
- *The Velvet Glove* (1977), series, as Elizabeth Fry
- *The Maids* (1975), as Madame
- *The Homecoming* (1973), as Ruth
- *The Common* (1973), as Jane Noble
- *The Offence* (1973), as Maureen Johnson
- *A War of Children* (1972), Actor
- *Frenzy* (1972), as Mrs Oxford
- *Under Milk Wood* (1972), as Mrs. Pugh
- *Wicked Women* (1970), series, as Augusta Fullam
- *Alfred the Great* (1969), as Freda
- *Funeral Games* (1968), as Tessa
- *ITV Playhouse* (1967), series, as Tessa
- *NBC Experiment in Television* (1967), series, as (voice)
- *Accident* (1967), as Rosalind
- *Opus* (1967), as Ruth (The Homecoming)
- *Ella* (1966), as Ella
- *Alfie* (1966), as Lily Clamacraft — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/alfie.md)
- *A Month in the Country* (1966), Actor
- *BBC Play of the Month* (1965), series, as Evelyn Daly, Dona Ana, Jane Noble
- *Thirty-Minute Theatre* (1965), series, as Ella
- *Tea Party* (1965), Actor
- *The Summer in Gossensass* (1964), as Hedda Gabler
- *Theatre 625* (1964), series, as Gertrude, Natalia Petrovna
- *The Lover* (1963), as Sarah
- *Studio 4* (1962), series, as Olivia Curtis
- *Studio 4* (1962), series, as Olivia
- *Night School* (1960), as Sally Gibbs
- *A Night Out* (1960), as Girl
- *The Collection*, as Stella

## Gallery

- ![Vivien Merchant](https://film.one/media/person/1242529/gallery-e1cad6c18039.jpg) Vivien Merchant — Image via TMDB
- ![Vivien Merchant](https://film.one/media/person/1242529/gallery-b968983f3a95.jpg) Vivien Merchant — Image via TMDB
- ![Vivien Merchant](https://film.one/media/person/1242529/gallery-0f331a263b70.jpg) Vivien Merchant — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1967: Best Supporting Actress (nominated), for *Alfie*

### Other awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 1967: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (nominated)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/vivien-merchant