Margaret Vyner

Margaret Vyner (3 December 1914 in Armidale, New South Wales – 30 October 1993 in Reading, England) was an Australian-born model and actress who appeared in British films. She collaborated with husband Hugh Williams on a number of successful theatre projects in the 1950s and 60s.

Modelling and acting career

Born Margaret Leila Vyner, she was the daughter of New South Wales pastoralist Robert Vyner. She attended Ascham School and later, Miss Jean Cheriton's Doone finishing school at Edgecliff, to whom, she said, she owed a great deal. Her first employment as a junior salesgirl at David Jones department store in Sydney was, in her own words, "a dismal and unqualified failure."

In the early 1930s she won a role in the stage production of Florodora. Other successful work on stage in Australia followed, mostly in supporting roles, including Blue Roses and The Merry Widow. According to granddaughter Kate Dunn, she sailed for England in 1933, but left the ship at Naples. Making her way overland to Paris, she was hired by French couturier, Jean Patou, first as a general "dog's body", later working her way up to be a leading mannequin. By 1935 she was well established and widely admired as a successful model. About this time, Cole Porter added the following lines to his song You're the Top from the musical Anything Goes: "You're the top, You're an ocean liner, You're the top, You're Margaret Vyner." She also worked for Norman Hartnell in London and toured the United States and Canada modelling his collection. She returned to Australia for Christmas 1935, and won a supporting role in Miles Mander's film The Flying Doctor, made in early 1936.