Lady Constance Malleson

Lady Constance Malleson

The Lady Constance Malleson (Colette O'Niel) (24 October 1895 – 5 October 1975) was a British writer and actress (appearing as Colette O'Niel), the wife of actor Miles Malleson and lover of Bertrand Russell.

She was born as Lady Constance Mary Annesley, daughter of Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley, and his second wife, Priscilla Cecilia Armytage-Moore, at Castlewellan Castle. Her sister, Lady Clare Annesley, was a feminist and pacifist, and stood as a Labour Party parliamentary candidate in the 1920s and 1930s. Her half-sister, Lady Mabel Annesley, became a successful artist and wood-engraver. Constance trained at RADA and married Miles Malleson in 1915. She went on to appear in many West End productions and at least one film, Hindle Wakes. During the First World War, her pacifist opinions brought her into contact with Bertrand Russell, whose mistress she soon became (having agreed with her husband on an "open marriage"). In 1923, she was divorced from Malleson. Her interest in social reform led her to travel abroad, and she carried out lecture tours in Scandinavia in the 1930s and 1940s.