Actress handled vial nervously (2,9)
I believe the answer is:
de havilland
'actress' is the definition.
(Olivia De Havilland, 1916-2020)
'handled vial nervously' is the wordplay.
'nervously' indicates anagramming the letters.
'handled'+'vial'='handledvial'
'handledvial' anagrammed gives 'DE HAVILLAND'.
(Other definitions for de havilland that I've seen before include "Aviator" , "Aircraft pioneer" .)