[3] Her father was a wealthy solicitor of Scottish parentage who was a director of the Grand Opera House in Belfast, a position that sparked her interest in theatrics.

When they moved into a larger house in suburban Mill Hill, she turned their home into a salon for actors, writers, directors, musicians, and artists, all of whom left an impression on young Angela and were instrumental in directing her interests towards acting.

MacGill's daughter Angela Lansbury, after having featured in a number of musicals from 1940 to the 1960s, would become a popular stage and film actress in her own right, starring in the long-running television series Murder, She Wrote.

The two moved their respective families to a house in Hampstead, but Macgill soon discovered Forbes' military career had made him a staunch disciplinarian who ruled the household like a tyrant.

[4] In 1942, she was invited to join a troupe that was rehearsing Noël Coward's Tonight at 8.30 for a touring production designed to raise funds for the Royal Canadian Air Force.