Famed Actor Barbara Leigh-Hunt Dead at 88

Barbara Leigh-Hunt, the award-winning star of movies like Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy , has died at the age of 88.

The British actress was an accomplished stage actress before making the jump to the silver screen at the turn of the 1970s. On stage, she appeared in Broadway productions of Hamlet and Sherlock Holmes and even won Britain's prestigious Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in An Inspector Calls .

In 1972, Leigh-Hunt starred in Frenzy , Alfred Hitchcock's penultimate movie and her first film role. She went on to share the screen with stars like Chevy Chase in Oh! Heavenly Dog , Colin Firth in the BBC's Pride & Prejudice mini-series, and Reese Witherspoon in Vanity Fair . She also played the vice principal in the Billy Elliot film, which was later adapted into a hit Broadway musical.

When looking back on her time working with Hitchcock, Leigh-Hunt described him as a "perfect gentleman" who dropped her off at home every day after filming, according to The Guardian . In Frenzy , she played the ex-wife of the protagonist played by Jon Finch who meets a gruesome fate.

Leigh-Hunt retired from acting in 2004. She's survived by her son William Pasco.