Jennifer Hilary
Jennifer Mary Hilary (14 December 1942 – 6 August 2008)[1] was a British actress of stage, film and television. Her first acclaimed stage performance was as "Milly" in Henry James' The Wings of the Dove, which marked her debut on the West End.
Career
Born at Frimley, Surrey, she trained at RADA, and began her acting career with the Liverpool Playhouse in April 1961, aged 18. Her first role was as Nina in The Seagull. She would go on to play such characters as Lady Teazle (The School for Scandal), Isabel (The Enchanted), Cilla Curtis (Amateur Means Lover) and Cecily Cardew (The Importance of Being Earnest). She went on to act with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.[2]
She debuted across the pond in 1963, performing in Jean Anouilh's The Rehearsal. In 1964, she played "Zoe" in the West End production of James Saunders' A Scent of Flowers. Sir Michael Redgrave included her in the cast of Turgenev's A Month in the Country in 1965. She returned to New York to play the doomed "Sasha" in Chekhov's Ivanov at the Shubert Theatre in 1966. Back in London, she played "Ginny" in the hit 1967 production of Alan Ayckbourn's Relatively Speaking.[2]
Later years
Later in life she founded a flower-arranging business. In 2001, she provided the floral arrangements for actor Michael Williams's memorial service at Covent Garden.[3]
Selected filmography
- Becket (1964) - Peasant's Daughter
- The Heroes of Telemark (1965) - Sigrid
- The Idol (1966) - Sarah
- Journey Into Darkness (1968) - Anne Prentiss (episode 'The New People')
- One Brief Summer (1971) - Jennifer
- North Sea Hijack (1979) - Sarah
- Five Days One Summer (1982) - Sarah Meredith
- Slipstream (1989) - Girl's Mother
Awards
In 1961 she was awarded the Bancroft Gold Medal.[2]
Death
Hilary died on 6 August 2008 in London from cancer, aged 65.
References
- ↑ Profile, ftvdb.bfi.org.uk; accessed 22 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 Obituary in The Telegraph Online
- ↑ Jennifer Hilary obit, Independent.co.uk; accessed 22 November 2015.