Anderson was born on 27 April 1922, in London, to parents Alan Edward Scrutton and Gladys Amy Scrutton (née Juler). Her surname was originally "Scrutton", but she later changed it to "Anderson". Anderson attended Kensington High School. She married Lionel William Carter.[1] Her aunt was the composer Mary Anderson Lucas.
Theatrical career
Daphne Anderson studied dancing under Zelia Raye. She made her first stage performance in 1937 at the Richmond Theatre as a chorus member in a production of Cinderella. The following year, Anderson made her London theatre debut in the chorus of the Revudeville at the Windmill Theatre.
She played several roles in various theatrical productions of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In 1943, she played Father William in a production of Alice in Wonderland and the Walrus in Alice Through the Looking-Glass, both at the Scala Theatre in London. She was a prominent member of Leonard Sachs' Players Theatre Company in London, appearing regularly at the Charing Cross Villiers Street venue and featured on recordings made there. [citation needed] In 1951 she appeared at the Princes Theatre in The Seventh Veil.