Margaret Hamilton: Biography of the Iconic Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz
Discover Margaret Hamilton’s life and career, the legendary actress who brought the Wicked Witch of the West to life in The Wizard of Oz.
Born Margaret Brainard Hamilton on December 9, 1902 in Cleveland. She began her career as a teacher. In 1923, she went into theater, still in Cleveland. Her stage debut was that same year, although her parents did not support her. They did not agree with their daughter becoming an actress. Because she did not fit the American stereotype, she ended up being cast in several roles of bitter, single women with a touch of spite towards other people.
She made a series of appearances in films such as Infamy (1936) and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938). I swear I saw these three mentioned, but unfortunately I do not remember seeing her. And she made a lot of films as a supporting actress.
The actress worked as a freelancer (a term that was not known at that time but which means a person who works for themselves). And she worked hard to support her only daughter, the fruit of her marriage to Paul Meserve. The couple remained together from 1931 to 1938 and she never remarried.
In 1939, the actress had luck in her hands when she was called to audition since Gale Sondergaard refused to appear ugly in The Wizard of Oz. But that’s the thing: Gale lived in the studio system, which asked for glamorous actresses and she was not in a position to accept.
While she was working on The Wizard of Oz, she suffered a serious accident when the paint she was using burned her face, hands and feet. It was precisely in the scene where she first appears with Dorothy. Despite everything, she was very professional and after being medicated, the type of paint that caught fire when touched was changed. In addition, she had the financial situation, and she could not afford to turn down such a role. And she did a great job, so much so that she is the most remembered witch in the film.
But when she thought she would have her big chance, nothing else went right. She began to make small appearances in films until around 1950. According to Margaret, she was afraid that people would start to think she was a monster and that she would scare children. She gave numerous interviews and visited several tributes to the most famous film.
A noble woman, she worked on several social causes for children and animals. Margaret ended her life returning to her first profession: teaching. The actress worked for the Board of Education.
Margaret had Alzheimer’s and died of a heart attack in her sleep. She was 82 years old.
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