Angela Lansbury: I'm Malcolm Turnbull's cousin!

When the stage icon soon hits our shores, she’ll be catching up with an important Aussie pollie.

On the eve of her first visit here in 55 years, beloved showbiz legend Angela Lansbury says top of her to-do list is savouring our ice-cold beer – and catching up with her cousin, federal politician Malcolm Turnbull, who she hasn’t seen since he was a tot!

“It’s ridiculous that this will be my first trip to Australia since 1958.Back then, I was in Sydney making [movie] Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll. You know, that’s when I fell madly in love with Aussie beer!” she laughs, as she chats exclusively to Woman’s Day from her New York home. “Considering my British heritage, it’s amazing I’d never had so much as a sip of beer until then. I became an instant fan and only ever drink Australian beer,” confides Angela, 87, in her famously rounded tones.

“I adored my time in Australia,” says Angela. “What I recall so vividly was the beautiful summer by Bondi Beach. We went for glorious picnics, and my children, Anthony and Deirdre, had great fun playing with Malcolm Turnbull who, back then, was about four.”

Angela says she and Malcolm are related via Malcolm’s mother, Coral Lansbury, who’s a cousin. “I haven’t seen him in all these years, but we keep in touch by phone and email. I am looking forward to a long-overdue reunion.” Angela, whose 70-year acting career has seen her become Hollywood royalty, a Broadway sensation and a television institution, says she’s excited to be starring on the Australian stage with her dear friend, Star Wars great James Earl Jones (right), in Driving Miss Daisy, which will tour nationally from February.