An elegant, distinguished stage actress, first noted for her comedic roles on the London stage, Browne began appearing in films in the late 1930s and is probably best known for her role in Peter Medak's zany satire, "The Ruling Class" (1972). She appeared in the British-made TV drama "An Englishman Abroad" (1983), directed by John Schlesinger and based on her real-life 1958 encounter with spy Guy Burgess. Browne was also outstanding in Gavin Millar's "Dreamchild" (1985) as octogenarian Alice Hargreaves, who as a girl had inspired Lewis Carroll to write "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".