Virginia McKenna Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
Talented flaxen-blonde British star combined her deep loves for acting and for wildlife throughout most her adult life. Born in London, England on June 7, 1931, her family possessed a sturdy theatrical background. Mother Anne was a jazz pianist, composer and cabaret performer while father Terry, an auctioneer, had relatives in the arts including ...
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, British Academy Television Award for Best Actress, BAFTA Award for Best British Actress
Nominations
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture – Drama
Movies
Born Free, Carve Her Name with Pride, A Town Like Alice, Ring of Bright Water, Golden Years, The Cruel Sea, The Smallest Show on Earth, Sliding Doors, An Elephant Called Slowly, Swallows and Amazons, The Wreck of the Mary Deare, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Waterloo, Simba, Two Living, One Dead, ...
TV Shows
The Camomile Lawn, Shades of Greene, The First Olympics: Athens 1896, The Scold's Bridle
Star Sign
Gemini
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Quote
1
[on Denholm Elliott] He was a fine actor and a delightful person, but I suppose I have to admit that, for both of us, our marriage was a mistake. I knew in my heart it wouldn't work. So I had to leave.
2
[I have no favorite] wild animals. They are all equally fascinating. And to be respected. I don't believe in domination.
3
We saw the results of the film's influence at the time, which is as strong today as it ever was. It doesn't go out of fashion. -- VM, regarding her most popular film Born Free (1966).
4
[on Peter Finch] Everybody adored Peter so much that he would just come on to the set and everyone would start smiling.
5
"There are some roles you can put out of your mind the moment you get home. But not this one. (Violette Szabo in Carve Her Name with Pride (1958)) It's the part of a life time.
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Fact
1
Was awarded the prestigious Laurence Olivier Best Actress in a Musical Award on London's West End Stage for 'The King and I'.
2
Horsham, West Sussex, England [May 2009]
3
According to Laura Waskin's in-depth article of Virginia in Classic Images film magazine, February 2013, after the filming of Born Free (1966), the real Joy Adamson invited Virginia to go with her and camp to Meru, the location where the story was based. She also presented Virginia and Bill with a painting she'd done of Elsa the lion on a camp bed accompanied by a touching personal message that read, "I thought the film and the way the story was told, brought the message to a wider audience. Books do one thing, and films do something else".
4
Due to family obligations, she once had to turn down the title role in a stage production of "Peter Pan" that would have co-starred husband Bill Travers as Captain Hook. Virginia later played Mrs. Darling in an American TV series version of Peter Pan (1976) starring Mia Farrow and Danny Kaye.
5
Has written several books: "On Playing with Lions" (1976), "Some of My Friends Have Tails" (1970), "Beyond the Bars: The Zoo Dilemma" (1987), "Into the Blue (1992), "Journey to Freedom" (1997) and, most recently, her autobiography, "The Life in My Years" (2009).
6
Virginia and Bill were asked to reprise their "Born Free" roles as the Adamsons in the sequel Living Free (1972) but they declined. Susan Hampshire and Nigel Davenport assumed the roles. The subsequent reviews and box office receipts for the sequel were underwhelming.
7
Has a strong love for writing and reading poetry with special passions for Shakespeare, Emily Bronte and Maya Angelou.
8
A major cultural influence, Born Free (1966) changed the perception the world had on wildlife. People were inspired to become veterinarians, preservationists or zoologists.
9
Never enjoyed watching herself on screen but would attend rushes just to see what she did wrong and how to correct it.
She has three sons, one daughter, and six grandchildren
15
Her half-French mother Anne de Nys wrote "An Englishman Needs Time", which was a hit for Eartha Kitt.
16
She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2004 Queen's New Year's Honours List for her services to wildlife and to the arts.
17
Recently opened a museum dedicated to Violette Szabo in Hereford - www.violette-szabo-museum.co.uk
18
Helped found The Born Free Foundation in 1984 with husband Bill Travers.
19
She and her husband co-starred in a number of films, most memorably as the conservationists Joy Adamson and George Adamson in Born Free (1966).
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Ethel & Ernest
2016
Lady of the House (voice)
Golden Years
2016/I
Martha
Leona Calderon
2013
Video
Elderly English Lady
Love/Loss
2010
Mary
Agatha Christie's Marple
2005
TV Series
Belle Goedler
The Whistle-Blower
2001
TV Movie
Theresa Elliot
Kavanagh QC
1999
TV Series
Alice Aldermarten
The Scold's Bridle
1998
TV Series
Violet Orloff
Sliding Doors
1998
James's Mother
September
1996
TV Movie
Violet
Shooting Gallery
1995
TV Series
Staggered
1994
Flora
The Lady in Waiting
1992
Short
Miss Peach
Ruth Rendell Mysteries
1992
TV Series
Milborough Lang
The Camomile Lawn
1992
TV Mini-Series
Polly (older)
Lovejoy
1992
TV Series
Harriet Fisher
Duel of Hearts
1991
TV Movie
Lady Brecon
Have a Nice Night
1990
TV Movie
Jennifer
Puccini
1984
TV Movie
Elvira
Sharing Time
1984
TV Series
Phoebe
The First Olympics: Athens 1896
1984
TV Mini-Series
Annabel Flack
Waters of the Moon
1983
TV Movie
Mrs. Whyte
The Case of the Frightened Lady
1983
TV Movie
Lady Lebanon Amersham
The Blue Dress
1983
TV Movie
Mrs. Lysarth
Blood Link
1982
Woman in Ballroom
Julius Caesar
1979
TV Movie
Portia
Holocaust 2000
1977
Eva Caine
The Disappearance
1977
Catherine
Beauty and the Beast
1976
TV Movie
Lucy
Peter Pan
1976
TV Movie
Mrs Darling
Shades of Greene
1975
TV Series
Mary
The Gathering Storm
1974
TV Movie
Clemmie Churchill
Swallows and Amazons
1974
Mrs. Walker
BBC Play of the Month
1965-1974
TV Series
Hester
Mary Stuart
Fraulein von Bernburg
...
The Dragon's Opponent
1973
TV Series
Margaret - Countess of Suffolk
The Edwardians
1973
TV Mini-Series
Daisy
Waterloo
1970/I
Duchess of Richmond
An Elephant Called Slowly
1970
Ginny
Ring of Bright Water
1969
Mary MacKenzie
The Admirable Crichton
1968
TV Movie
Lady Mary
Half Hour Story
1968
TV Series
Ann
Mystery and Imagination
1966
TV Series
Mrs. Oke
Born Free
1966
Joy Adamson
ITV Play of the Week
1962
TV Series
Jane Charlton
Two Living, One Dead
1961
Helen Berger
The Wreck of the Mary Deare
1959
Janet Taggart
Storm Over Jamaica
1958
Judy Waring
Carve Her Name with Pride
1958
Violette Szabo
Big Time Operators
1957
Jean Spenser
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
1957
Henrietta Barrett
A Town Like Alice
1956
Jean Paget
BBC Sunday-Night Theatre
1951-1955
TV Series
Juliet / Muriel Craig / Captain Janine Mayhew
PT Raiders
1955
Helen
Simba
1955
Mary Crawford
The Horse's Mouth
1953
Shelagh
The Cruel Sea
1953
Julie Hallam
The Second Mrs. Tanqueray
1952
Ellean Tanqueray
Father's Doing Fine
1952
Catherine
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Lady in Waiting
1992
Short special thanks - as Virginia
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Virginia McKenna's Born Free
2016
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Loose Women
2010-2014
TV Series
Herself
The Greatest Ever War Films
2014
TV Movie documentary
Herself / Violette Szabo
Piers Morgan's Life Stories
2013
TV Series
Herself - Friend
Hello: A Portrait of Leslie Phillips
2013
TV Movie documentary
Herself - #TheSmallestShowOnEarth
The British Animal Honours
2013
TV Movie
Herself
Fifties British War Films: Days of Glory
2013
TV Movie documentary
Herself (as Virginia McKenna OBE)
Mad As Hell: Peter Finch
2011
Documentary
Herself
Natural World
2011
TV Series documentary
Herself - Participant
Breakfast
2005-2011
TV Series
Herself - Actress and Founder: Born Free Foundation / Herself
$19 Million
