Tree was born in London, the eldest of three daughters of
Herbert Beerbohm Tree and his wife, the actress
Helen Maud Tree,
née Holt. Her aunt was author
Constance Beerbohm and an uncle was
Max Beerbohm. She was educated privately in London and in Europe. Her sisters were
Felicity Tree and
Iris Tree. She also had seven illegitimate half-siblings, the products of her father's many infidelities, among them the director
Carol Reed and Peter Reed, whose son became the actor
Oliver Reed.
Stage and film career Originally, Tree planned a career as a singer, but entered the family profession in 1904. She made a very successful London debut in March 1904 as Viola in
Twelfth Night. For the next four years she appeared in her father's productions at
His Majesty's Theatre. Her other
Shakespeare roles included Hero in
Much Ado about Nothing, the Queen in
Richard II, Ariel in
The Tempest, Anne Page in
The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ophelia in
Hamlet and Perdita in ''
The Winter's Tale'', in which
Ellen Terry played Hermione. Tree continued to plan an operatic career, and after making a success in the title role of
Iphigénie en Tauride and as Euridice in
Orfeo ed Euridice at the
Savoy Theatre in 1910, she went to
Milan to study. On her return, however, she did not pursue her operatic ambitions, except for playing Euridice again in 1912. Instead, she continued to build her stage career in plays and in
variety. In 1919, Tree took over the management of the
Aldwych Theatre, scoring particular success with the works of
Sacha Guitry. In 1930–31 she was in the US, appearing on Broadway and on tour in drama and also appeared in the
Ziegfeld Follies. and in 1934 she directed
Jean-Philippe Rameau's opera
Castor et Pollux for the Oxford University Opera Club. In 1931 she starred in the play with music
For the Love of Mike, and starred in the works' film adaptation in 1932. Tree's last West End appearance was in
The Melody that Got Lost, "a comedy with music", in January 1938. She was an early and strong supporter of the foundation of a
National Theatre. Tree also played in four films between 1920 and 1938, Viola Tree revived the play in 1920; and she played a cameo role in the film, in which her son David Tree played Freddy.
Writing In 1923
The Dancers, a play written by Tree in collaboration with the actor-manager
Gerald du Maurier under the joint pen name of Hubert Parsons, opened at
Wyndham's Theatre, starring
Tallulah Bankhead in her London début. It ran for 349 performances and subsequently transferred to the
Broadhurst Theatre on
Broadway, where it lasted for 133 performances. She wrote a second play,
The Swallow, about decent people coping with the rise of Italian Fascism, produced in London in 1925. Tree published several books: her memoirs,
Castles in the Air (1926); a book of etiquette advice,
Can I Help You? (1937); a novel; a biography of her husband; and an anthology, ''Alan Parsons' Book'' (1937). Tree died of
pleurisy in London, aged 54. ==Filmography==