Evelyn Laye

She died in London from respiratory failure. However, she died prior to filming the third season and the writers wrote her character's death into the story as well. During a tribute in 1992 at the London Palladium the actor John Mills described her as "the fairest prima donna this side of heaven". Nancy Marchand (June 19, 1928 - June 18, 2000) was best known for her Emmy award-winning role on the HBO series, The Sopranos as Soprano family matriarch Livia Soprano and mother of Tony Soprano. Her acting career ranks as one of the longest in British theatre. Awarded an OBE in 1973, Laye continued acting well into her nineties.

Her other stage successes included Silver Wedding (1957) with Lawton, and The Amorous Prawn (1959) and Phil the Fluter (1969). She acted several times opposite her second husband, the actor Frank Lawton. She continued acting in such productions as The Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Married to the actor Sonnie Hale from 1926, Laye received widespread public sympathy when Hale left her for the actress Jessie Matthews in 1930.

She made her Broadway debut in 1929 in Noel Coward's Bitter Sweet. Among her sucesses during the 1920s were Madame Pompadour, The Dollar Princess and Lilac Time. Born Elsie Evelyn Lay in Bloomsbury, London, England, Laye made her first stage appearance in 1915, and for the first few years of her career played mainly in musical comedy. Evelyn Laye (July 10 - 1900 - February 17, 1996) was a British theatre actress.