ACTRESS ANGELA LANSBURY, best known for her role as Jessica Fletcher in the hit mystery series Murder She Wrote, has been honoured with a special tribute award at the Audi Dublin International Film Festival today.

Lansbury is in Dublin to discuss her life and her career on stage, and to accept the ‘Volta’ award, which pays tribute to the life and work of the actress.

Her first films include classics like Gaslight and The Picture of Dorian Gray, as well as Disney favourites like Beauty and the Beast and Anastasia.

Actress Angela Lansbury with her actor fiance Peter Shaw, in London. Ap Ap

This afternoon, as part of the festival, she is taking part in a public interview at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.

Congratulating the actress on her award, President Michael D Higgins said it was “most richly deserved”.

“The range of her great and diverse talent has found its expression in all forms of the theatre and screen. Recognised by critics and by her peers as one of the great actresses of our age with an Olivier Award, Tony Awards and an Honorary Oscar, Angela Lansbury truly enjoys the status of icon,” he said.

“The great longevity of her career has meant that new generations have continued to be enriched by the great breadth of her artistic gift.”

Angela Lansbury gets a Kiss from composer Richard Rodgers at New Yorks Uris Theatre in 1978. Associated Press Associated Press

He also paid tribute to her commitment to social causes in her personal life, noting he appreciated her support for efforts in the 1990s to develop the Irish film and television industry.

Her deep love for Ireland and her commitment to our creative sector is so deeply appreciated by the Irish people and it is especially appropriate that Dublin should bestow this lifetime achievement award on you.

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