1. Constance Collier wrote plays and films with Ivor Novello and she was the first person to be treated with insulin in Europe.
16 Facts About Constance Collier
1. 2.
In 1905, Collier married English actor Julian Boyle.
3.
Constance Collier was known to be very tall with a big personality.
4.
Around the same time, Constance Collier became seriously ill from diabetes and treatment proved expensive.
5.
Constance Collier was sent to Switzerland for treatment in 1923 then taken to a doctor in Strasbourg.
6.
Constance Collier was the first patient in Europe ever to be treated with the drug insulin following its recent discovery by Frederick Banting and others in Toronto.
7.
In 1924, Constance Collier introduced Novello to the poet Siegfried Sassoon, with whom she had a six-month affair.
8.
Constance Collier's writing career is notable for her collaboration with Deems Taylor on the libretto of the opera Peter Ibbetson, which was premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in February 1931 and which received mixed reviews.
9.
In 1935, upon her arrival in Hollywood, Luise Rainer hired Constance Collier to improve Rainer's theatre acting and English, and to learn the basics of film acting.
10.
Constance Collier nevertheless maintained ties to Broadway and appeared in several plays in the 1930s.
11.
In 1932 Collier starred as Carlotta Vance in the original production of George S Kaufman and Edna Ferber's comedy Dinner at Eight.
12.
Constance Collier appeared in the films Stage Door, Mitchell Leisen's Kitty, Perils of Pauline with Betty Hutton, Alfred Hitchcock's Rope and Otto Preminger's Whirlpool.
13.
Constance Collier was presented with the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre Award for distinguished service in training and guiding actors in Shakespearean roles.
14.
Constance Collier was a drama coach for many famous actors, including Audrey Hepburn, Vivien Leigh and Marilyn Monroe.
15.
Constance Collier coached Katharine Hepburn during Hepburn's world tour performing Shakespeare in the 1950s.
16.
Constance Collier died of a heart attack in Manhattan on 25 April 1955 at the age of 77.