Tandy was born in London and she was educated at the Dame Alice Owen's School in Islington.

From a young age she was determined to be an actress, and first appeared on the London stage in 1926, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's "King Lear". She also worked in British films. She made her American film debut in The Seventh Cross (1944). She also appeared in The Valley of Decision (1945), The Green Years (1946), and Forever Amber (1947), The Birds (1963).

The beginning of the 1980s saw a resurgence in her film career, with character roles in The World According to Garp, Best Friends, Still of the Night (all 1982) and The Bostonians (1984), and the hit film Cocoon (1985), Driving Miss Daisy (1989). She subsequently earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her work in the grass-roots hit Fried Green Tomatoes (1992).

To Dance with the White Dog (1993 telefilm, with husband, Hume Cronyn), Nobody's Fool (1994), and Camilla (also 1994, with Cronyn). She died at home on September 11, 1994, in Easton, Connecticut, of ovarian cancer at the age of eighty five.

Public Name: Jessica Tandy
Birth Name: Jessie Alice Tandy
Date of Birth: June 7, 1909 – September 11, 1994
Place of Birth: London

Filmography

1. Nobody's Fool, 1994
2. Camilla, 1994
3. To Dance with the White Dog, 1993 (TV)
4. Used People, 1992
5. "Dream On", 1992 TV Episode
6. Fried Green Tomatoes, 1991
7. The Story Lady, 1991 (TV)
8. Driving Miss Daisy, 1989
9. Cocoon: The Return, 1988
10. The House on Carroll Street, 1988
11. Batteries not included, 1987
12. Foxfire, 1987 (TV)
13. Cocoon, 1985
14. The Bostonians, 1984
15. Best Friends, 1982
16. Still of the Night, 1982
17. The World According to Garp, 1982
18. Honky Tonk Freeway, 1981
19. The Gin Game, 1981 (TV)
20. Butley, 1974
21. "The F.B.I.", 1972 TV Episode
22. "O'Hara, U.S. Treasury", 1972 TV Episode
23. "Judd for the Defense", 1968 TV Episode
24. The Birds, 1963
25. Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man, 1962
26. The Moon and Sixpence, 1959 (TV)
27. "The DuPont Show of the Month", 1959 TV Episode
28. "Hallmark Hall of Fame", 1958 TV Episode
29. The Light in the Forest, 1958
30. "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", 1956-1958 TV Episodes
31. "Telephone Time", 1958 TV Episode
32. "Suspicion", 1957 TV Episode
33. "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars", 1957 TV Episode
34. "Studio One", 1951-1957 TV Episodes
35. “Goodyear Television Playhouse", 1956 TV Episode
36. "General Electric Theater", 1956 TV Episode
37. "The Alcoa Hour", 1956 TV Episode
38. "The United States Steel Hour", 1956 TV Episode
39. "The Philco Television Playhouse", 1955 TV Episode
40. "Producers' Showcase", 1955 TV Episode
41. "The Marriage", 1954 TV Series
42. The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel, 1951
43. "The Prudential Family Playhouse", 1951 TV Episode
44. "Somerset Maugham TV Theatre", 1951 TV Episode
45. “Lights Out", 1951 TV Episode
46. September Affair, 1950
47. "Masterpiece Playhouse", 1950 TV Episode
48. "Actor's Studio", 1948 TV Episode
49. A Woman's Vengeance, 1948
50. Forever Amber, 1947
51. Dragonwyck, 1946
52. The Green Years, 1946
53. The Valley of Decision, 1945
54. Blonde Fever, 1944
55. The Seventh Cross, 1944
56. Fox in the Morning, 1939 (TV)
57. Fiat Justitia, 1939 (TV)
58. Glorious Morning, 1938 (TV)
59. Murder in the Family, 1938
60. The Indiscretions of Eve, 1932

Awards

1. Special Tony for Lifetime Achievement 1994
2. Women in Film Crystal Award 1991
3. BAFTA Award Best Actress "Driving Miss Daisy" 1990
4. Berlin Film Festival Joint Performance Award "Driving Miss Daisy" 1990
5. National Medal of Art Award 1990
6. NATO/ShoWest Lifetime Achievement Award 1990
7. Oscar Best Actress "Driving Miss Daisy" 1989
8. Emmy Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special "Foxfire" 1987 - 88
9. Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award 1986
10. Special Drama Desk Award 1986
11. Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Play "Foxfire" 1983
12. Tony Actress in a Play "Foxfire" 1983
13. Creative Arts Award from Brandies University 1978
14. Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Play "The Gin Game" 1978
15. Tony Actress in a Play "The Gin Game" 1978
16. Drama Desk Award Outstanding Performance "Not I" and "Happy Days" 1973
17. OBIE Award Distinguished Performance "Not I" 1972 - 73
18. Tony Actress (Dramatic) "A Streetcar Named Desire" 1948