Sybil Arundale (1882-1965) was born Sybil Kelly. At the age of 11, she started what was to be a long and varied stage career, performing with her sister, Grace, in an act billed as 'The Sisters Arundale'.

The music-hall double-act survived for a few years and, although Sybil afterwards continued to perform in vaudeville and pantomime, she also developed a reputaion as a dramatic actor. In 1898 (aged 16), she played Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Later, she appeared as Rosalind in As You Like It, spent some time with the Birmingham Repertory Company, and performed in productions of Ibsen's still controversial The Pillars of Sciety and The Wild Duck.

She never played lead roles but she did perform in many successful productions, including the muical, The Cingalee, that starred Hayden Coffin and, opening on March 5 1904, ran for just over a year. Immediately afterwards, she was one of a small cast in Venus, 1906, a satirical musical sketch written by George Grossmith and presented at the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square.

She continued to appear in revues and comedies for another thirty or so years. Her successes included First-Class Passengers Only (1927) that starred Edith Sitwell and Val Giegud at the Arts Theatre, London. She also had significant parts in three silent films (1917-19) and two talkies (1930 and 1934).