Actress. A longtime star of the British stage, she is probably best remembered for her 1957 performances as the title heroine of “The Diary of Anne Frank”. Born Margaret Phillipa Snowden, she was raised in Argentina due to her father’s business and gained early stage experience in productions put-on by the British community. Returning to England in 1945, she made her West End debut at 14 as Minnie in “Annie Get Your Gun”. Seen as Lisa in “Peter Pan” and as Anukta from Tolstoy’s “The Power of Darkness”, she established herself as a star with her 1950 appearance in Aimee Stuart’s “Lace on Her Petticoat”. Perlita made her silver screen bow in the 1949 “Three Bags Full”, appeared in 1953’s “Gilbert and Sullivan”, and at the Bristol Old Vic proved adept at Shakespeare with performances in “Much Ado About Nothing”, “The Winter’s Tale”, and “The Merchant of Vinice”. In 1956 she had a major hit as Nina in “The Seagull” and the next year scored her triumph as Anne Frank, and though she was offered the opportunity to take Anne to Hollywood she declined, preferring to continue her stage career in England. Perlita earned praise in Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” and as Ellie Dunn in George Bernard Shaw’s “Heartbreak House” and in the 1960s was teen in a number of television features including “Magrit”, “Emma”, “The Eustace Diamonds”, and the “ITV Play of the Week”. She was Queen Victoria for the 1974 miniseries “Fall of Eagles”, performed in local theatre for a time, earned her final credits with 1981’s series “The Day of the Triffids”, and lived out her days in Brighton where she worked in a bookstore. At her death some of her performances were preserved on DVD. (bio by: Bob Hufford)