- She was a direct descendant of John Quincy Adams.
- Edna May Oliver was often parodied in Warner Brothers cartoons of the 30s due to her distinctive face.
- Died on her birthday, November 9.
- Appeared in five Oscar Best Picture nominees: Cimarron (1931), Little Women (1933), David Copperfield (1935), A Tale of Two Cities (1935) and Romeo and Juliet (1936). Only the first of these won.
- Interred at Forest Lawn (Glendale), Glendale, California, USA, in the Great Mausoleum, Columbarium of Security.
- The actress's best friends were actors Grant Mitchell and Franklyn Pangborne and they were often guests at her home for dinner.
- Bears a striking resemblance to character actress Frances Sternhagen, in physical appearance, demeanor, wry comic style, and choice of roles.
- In addition to being a descendant of Presidents John Adams (born 1735) and his son John Quincy Adams, her father's stepfather, Samuel Oliver, had a mother named Julia Adams who descended from a different John Adams (born 1724).
- In her main films her character was often that of an outspoken aunt.
- Biography in "Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties" by Axel Nissen.
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