Elizabeth Russell
Elizabeth Russell (August 2, 1916 – May 4, 2002) was an American actress. Elizabeth Russell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was best known for her roles in several of producer Val Lewton's low-budget horror films produced at RKO Pictures in the mid-1940s. She was the sister-in-law of Rosalind Russell.
Elizabeth Russell

Public domain
- Name
- Elizabeth Russell
- Born
- 2 August 1916
- Birthplace
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Died
- 4 May 2002
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actress
- Full name
- Elizabeth Convery.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Languages
- English.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Elizabeth Russell (August 2, 1916 – May 4, 2002) was an American actress. Elizabeth Russell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was best known for her roles in several of producer Val Lewton's low-budget horror films produced at RKO Pictures in the mid-1940s. She was the sister-in-law of Rosalind Russell.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Elizabeth Russell. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q5363454
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Elizabeth Russell • Born — 2 August 1916 • Birthplace — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. • Died — 4 May 2002 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1936–1960 • Children — 1
Career
Career
• Illustration — Elizabeth Russell and Béla Lugosi in The Corpse Vanishes (1942) Russell worked as a photographer's model in New York City before she became an actress. When she was chosen for a part in Cat People (1942), Russell was a model who acted part-time. In his book Fearing the Dark: The Val Lewton Career, Edmund G. Bansak wrote, "Although lasting only moments, the economy of Russell's cameo is wondrous and it remains etched in viewers' memories long after the more essential concerns of plot and character have been all but forgotten."
Personal life
Personal life
Russell married advertising man John Russell in 1937, they had a young son. They divorced in 1942.
Partial filmography
Partial filmography
• Forgotten Faces (1936) - Girl • Girl of the Ozarks (1936) - Gail Rogers • My American Wife (1936) - Miss Van Dusen (uncredited) • Lady Be Careful (1936) - Dancer (uncredited) • Hideaway Girl (1936) - Cellette • Forty Naughty Girls (1937) - Woman Watching Piper Enter Theater (uncredited) • Miss Polly (1941) - Woman at Civic League Meeting (uncredited) • A Date with the Falcon (1942) - Girl on Plane (uncredited) • So's Your Aunt Emma (1942) - Zelda • The Corpse Vanishes (1942) - Countess Lorenz • Cat People (1942) - The Cat Woman (uncredited) • The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942) - Jealous Woman (uncredited) • Stand by for Action (1942) - Expectant Mother (uncredited) • She Has What It Takes (1943) - Chorus Girl (uncredited) • Hitler's Madman (1943) - Maria Bartonek - Anton's Wife • The Seventh Victim (1943) - Mimi (uncredited) • A Scream in the Dark (1943) - Muriel • The Uninvited (1944) - The Ghost of Mary Meredith (uncredited) • Weird Woman (1944) - Evelyn Sawtelle • The Curse of the Cat People (1944) - Barbara Farren • Summer Storm (1944) - Dinner Guest Offended by Kuzma (uncredited) • Youth Runs Wild (1944) - Mabel Taylor • Keep Your Powder Dry (1945) - WAC Sergeant (uncredited) • Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945) - Kola Hanson • Adventure (1945) - Dame #1 (uncredited) • Bedlam (1946) - Mistress Sims • Wild Stallion (1952) - Dan's School Teacher (uncredited) • Feudin' Fools (1952) - Ma Smith (uncredited) • So Big (1953) - Elsie (uncredited) • From the Terrace (1960) - Frolick's Woman (uncredited) (final film role)

Colored lobby card for The Corpse Vanishes featuring Bela Lugosi. This image is assumed to be in the public domain, as no copyright notice is in evidence. In the links above and in the original uploaded copy. At bottom right is Litho in USA.
Monogram Pictures
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Philadelphia.
Birth place
Los Angeles.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 21 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,515 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Elizabeth PeñaPerson
- Elizabeth PerkinsPerson
- Elizabeth ReaserPerson
- Elizabeth RicePerson
- Elizabeth SavallaPerson
- Elizabeth SpriggsPerson
- Elizabeth TabishPerson
- Elizabeth WoodPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Elizabeth Russell?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.