Williams, Hope

(1897-1990)

   Born in Manhattan as the daughter of a prominent lawyer, Hope Williams began acting in amateur and charity shows for the Junior League. Her society background as a wealthy debutante served her well in her Broadway successes in two Philip Barry plays, Paris Bound (1927) and Holiday (1928). Subsequent stage appearances included Rebound* (1930), the Cole Porter musical The New Yorkers (1930), and a revival of The Importance of Being Earnest (1939) that costarred Clifton Webb and Estelle Winwood. She made her only motion picture appearance in The Scoundrel (1935), starring opposite Noël Coward, and retired in 1939 to enjoy the life of privilege into which she had been born.