At her death, her son, Tony Cookson, said that although some reference books listed her birth year as 1918, it was actually 1914, making her 86 when she died.
Brother Michael Straight was publisher of "The New Republic." He was married three times. His second wife was Nina Auchincloss Steers, writer and step-sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and the half-sister of writer Gore Vidal.
Brother Whitney Willard Straight was a noted race car driver who later headed up the British Overseas Airway Corporation. Also made news for being the youngest licensed pilot ever in England (age 16).
Cousin of fashion designer/socialite Gloria Vanderbilt.
Father Willard Straight was an investment banker who died of septic pneumonia while serving in France in 1919. Mother, heiress Dorothy Payne Whitney, subsequently married British educationist who founded Dartington Hall School in Devon. Beatrice moved with her family to England in 1925.
Her final film appearance was playing Goldie Hawn's mother in the thriller Deceived (1991). Her role was a mere five seconds long.
Her Oscar-winning role in Network (1976) lasted a mere 5 minutes and 40 seconds on screen, making her performance the briefest ever to win an acting Oscar
In the 1940s she co-founded Theatre, Inc., which instigated the US visit of the Old Vic Company.
Mother of director/writer Tony Cookson.
Sister of Michael Straight (writer and editor of The New Republic).
Succeeded Wendy Hiller as Catherine Sloper in the Broadway play "The Heiress" at the Biltmore Theatre in 1948. It was in this production that she met future husband/actor Peter Cookson, who was playing the role of Morris Townsend.
Under the auspices of acting teacher Michael Chekhov, she played Viola in "Twelfth Night" and Goneril in "King Lear" in 1937, with the Dartington Hall Players in England.
Wife of actor Peter Cookson.
Won Broadway's 1953 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic) for "The Crucible."