Felicity Kendal | |
|---|---|
 Kendal in 2024 | |
| Born | (1946-09-25)25 September 1946 (age 79) Olton, Warwickshire, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Notable work | The Good Life Rosemary & Thyme |
| Spouses | |
| Partner(s) | Tom Stoppard (1991–1998) Michael Rudman (1998–2023; his death)[1] |
| Children | 2, includingCharley Henley |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Jennifer Kendal (sister) |
Felicity Ann Kendal (born 25 September 1946) is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, including as Barbara Good in the television seriesThe Good Life from 1975 to 1977. Kendal was born in England, but moved to India with her family from the age of seven. Her father was an English actor-manager who led his own repertory company on tours of India, and Kendal appeared in roles for the company both before and after leaving England. She appeared in the filmShakespeare Wallah (1965) which was inspired by her family.
Kendal made several television appearances, starting withLove Story in 1966, and made her London stage debut inMinor Murder (1967) at theSavoy Theatre. She was approached to appear inThe Good Life while appearing inThe Norman Conquests, and appeared in all four series. She later went on to star in the sitcomsSolo (1981–82) andThe Mistress (1985 and 1987) which were scripted byCarla Lane. Later television work includedThe Camomile Lawn (1992), which, as of 2022, remained the most-watched drama ever onChannel 4. However, the poor reception to the 1994 sitcomHoney for Tea led Kendal to focus on stage rather than television work for some years. She co-starred withPam Ferris on television inRosemary & Thyme (2003–2006) as one of a pair of gardeners and detectives.
Kendal's stage career blossomed during the 1980s and 1990s when she formed a close professional association withTom Stoppard, starring in the first productions of many of his plays, includingOn the Razzle (1981),The Real Thing (1982),Hapgood (1988), andArcadia (1993). She also appeared in ten plays directed byPeter Hall, from portraying Constanze Mozart inAmadeus (1979) to Esme inAmy's View (2006). She took her first role in a musical as Evangeline Harcourt in the 2021 London revival ofAnything Goes at theBarbican Theatre. In 2023, she starred as Dotty Otley inNoises Off at thePhoenix Theatre and theTheatre Royal Haymarket. Many of her stage performances have been critically acclaimed. Kendal was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the1995 New Year Honours for services to drama.
Felicity Ann Kendal was born in 1946 inOlton inSolihull, England.[2][3] She is the younger daughter of Laura Liddell and actor and managerGeoffrey Kendal.[4] Her older sister,Jennifer Kendal, was also an actress.[5]
After early years in Birmingham, Kendal lived in India with her family from the age of seven: her father was an English actor-manager who led his ownrepertory company on tours of India.[4] The ensemble would perform plays from a repertoire includingShakespeare,George Bernard Shaw, andRichard Brinsley Sheridan to audiences that included schoolchildren, nuns, British expatriates, and royalty.[6][7] As the family travelled, Kendal attended six different Loreto College convent schools in India,[8] until the age of 13.[9] She contractedtyphoid fever in Calcutta at the age of 17.[10]
Kendal made her stage debut for her family's company aged nine months, when she was carried on stage as thechangeling boy inA Midsummer Night's Dream.[2][3] Five years later she was the Changeling in the same play, and aged nine she was Macduff's son in a production ofMacbeth.[7] Her first speaking role was asPuck inA Midsummer Night's Dream when she was 12.[7]
Kendal's family and their touring theatre company were the inspiration for theMerchant Ivory Productions filmShakespeare Wallah (1965), which follows the story of nomadic British actors as they perform Shakespeare plays in towns inpost-colonial India.[5] She played Lizzie Buckingham, the daughter of the company's actor-managers, who falls in love with the son of film star Manjula, portrayed byMadhur Jaffrey.[4] Lizzie's parents face a dilemma between their deep-seated theatrical ambitions and their fears for the welfare of their daughter.[4]The Observer film criticKenneth Tynan wrote a positive review of the film, and considered that the role of the daughter was "fetchingly played by the dumpling-faced Felicity Kendal".[11]Patrick Gibbs ofThe Daily Telegraph named Kendal as his actress of the year,[12] and said that, based on her portrayal ofOphelia in an extract fromHamlet within the film, her performance of that role would "rank with any that [he had] seen".[13]
Speaking toThe Daily Telegraph journalist Jasper Rees in 2006, Kendal said that her time in India was "sometimes very hard, sometimes very poor, sometimes ghastly, ghastly, ghastly in all sorts of ways", she did not regret it, and that it was an "amazing way of living".[9] She also felt that it prepared her for a career in theatre as she did not have any established expectations about how things should be.[9] Aged 17, she moved to England, initially living with her aunt.[14]
Kendal appeared in two episodes ofLove Story in 1966, and as a teenagehippie in "The May Fly and the Frog", an episode ofThe Wednesday Play which starredJohn Gielgud, the same year.[3][15][14] Her other early TV roles included parts inMan in a Suitcase (1967),[3][16]The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1968–69),The Woodlanders (1970) andJason King (1972).[3]
In 1975, she appeared asPrincess Vicky inEdward the Seventh.[17] In his article about Kendal for theMuseum of Broadcast CommunicationsEncyclopedia of Television,David Pickering wrote that in the early years of Kendal's television career, "Producers liked her girlish good looks and bubbly confidence and audiences also quickly warmed to her."[18]
Kendal had her big break on television with theBBC sitcomThe Good Life which started in 1975.[19][20] She andRichard Briers starred as Barbara and Tom Good, a middle-class suburban couple who decide to quit therat race and become self-sufficient, much to the consternation of their snooty but well-meaning neighbour Margo (Penelope Keith) and her down-to-earth husband Jerry Leadbetter (Paul Eddington).[21][20] Kendal appeared in all 30 episodes, which extended over four series and two specials, until 1977.[22][20] BBC Head of ComedyJimmy Gilbert, who had commissionedThe Good Life as a showcase for Briers,[23] saw Kendal and Keith perform in the playThe Norman Conquests and felt they would suit the roles of Barbara and Margo.[21] Briers approached Kendal in her dressing room and suggested that she read for the part.[24] Kendal later recounted that she was keen to get the part, both because she needed work and because she felt a rapport with Briers, who was already established, having appeared regularly in television shows since 1962.[25] The show's producerJohn Howard Davies also went to see the play, and Kendal and Keith were both given parts.[24] Eddington also had stage acting experience, and the show's co-writerBob Larbey felt that having a cast of actors, rather than a comedian as a central figure, made writing episodes easier.[25] In her 1988 bookWhite Cargo, Kendal reflected that the lead actors' stage experience and their attitude "to be actors first and stars second" was an important factor in the show's success.[26] She commented that from the beginning, "we slotted into a way of working together that was fun, fast and furious ... all extremely professional, ambitious and hard-working, and our dedication to the show was total."[27] She also felt that Larbey and his co-writerJohn Esmonde tailored the scripts so that they were for the "actors and characters combined".[28]
Although Barbara has her doubts about Tom's plans for self-sufficiency at first, she supports him emotionally and practically.[29][30] The cultural historianMark Lewisohn commented that it was obvious that Barbara and Tom "enjoy a great marriage, being fully attuned to one another's needs and desires".[30] TheBritish Film Institute's page about Kendal, written by Tise Vahimagi, argues that the four lead characters were relatable, "with Kendal standing out as the epitome of friendly suburban sexiness in her tight blue jeans".[31] On the Institute's page aboutThe Good Life, Mark Duguid wrote that "Felicity Kendal's lively, sexy Barbara won her the adoration of millions of British men" in a very popular show that was a "gentle social satire of the suburban middle-class".[20] For Pickering, Kendal's "whimsical, puckish charm and endearingly good-humoured outlook made her ideal for the role".[18]
After a low-key start, the programme quickly became popular, attracting audiences of about 14 million for new episodes.[27][32] By the last episode, Esmonde and Larbey felt that the main storylines had come to a natural end, and decided not to write further episodes.[27] The last regular episode aired in May 1977 and was followed by a 1977 Christmas special.[33] The cast reunited for a 1978Royal Command Performance.[27] It has often received repeated showings on the BBC, typically at prime viewing times, and the repeats typically attracted high audiences.[34]
The film and television studies scholars Frances Bonner and Jason Jacobs contended that althoughThe Good Life was consistently a reference point across the coverage later careers of each of the lead actors, this was most pronounced in the case of Kendal.[32] Kendal has maintained that the character of Barbara Good is very dissimilar to her as a person.[32] In a 2010 interview, she said of her close association with the character that "[The Good Life] is always on some channel or another. I think it's rather nice. It's following me like a good fairy."[35] She added that while the other lead characters were like people that the viewers might know personally, Barbara "had all the ingredients – feisty, strong but adoring, up for anything, very funny – that people find attractive".[35]
Davies was so impressed by the performances from Kendal, Keith and Eddington that when he was Head of Comedy for the BBC, he gave them all starring roles in new series:Yes Minister for Eddington,To The Manor Born for Keith, andSolo (1981–82) for Kendal.[36]Carla Lane wroteSolo, in which Kendal played the lead role of Gemma Palmer, who decides to split from her boyfriend and live independently.[37][38] Lane also wroteThe Mistress (1985 and 1987) in which Kendal portrayed a florist having an affair with a married man, played by Jack Galloway in 1985 and with a different character played byPeter McEnery in the 1987 version.[37][31] BothSolo andThe Mistress were positively received,[37] although some viewers were disappointed by the lack of innocence displayed by Kendal's character inThe Mistress compared to that of the Barbara Good character.[39] Bonner and Jacobs commented that "As Barbara, her sexiness was contained in the loving relationship with her husband, but her subsequent casting in the TV sitcomsSolo (1981–82) andThe Mistress (1985–87) reveals even in their titles a making of her imaginatively available for the lustful viewer."[32] The media scholar Mary Irwin considers that Kendal has avoided being typecast in roles of "acquiescent girlfriend or supportive wife", and that inSolo andThe Mistress she "cut through commonplace binaries situating sitcom women as either bimbos or battleaxes".[40]
The Camomile Lawn (1992) starred Kendal as Helena Cuthbertson, whose property encompassed a mansion and the lawn in the title.[41] Eddington played her husband Richard.[41] Attracting over seven million viewers, as of 2022 it remained the most-watched drama ever onChannel 4.[41] However the 1994 sitcomHoney for Tea starring Kendal was later described by Maureen Paton ofthe Daily Telegraph as "an unmitigated flop".[42] Her American accent in the show was mocked by TV critic and humouristVictor Lewis-Smith: "In a single phrase, she veered uncontrollably from the Bronx to South Africa via Surrey, like some linguistic Spruce Goose, awkwardly taking off only to crash-land again within moments."[43]
Having focused on her theatre rather than her television career for some years following the poor reception toHoney for Tea,[42] in 2003 Kendal co-starred withPam Ferris inRosemary & Thyme as a pair of gardeners and detectives.[44] Kendal's character Rosemary Boxer is a University ofMalmesbury lecturer in appliedhorticulture.[45] The show was negatively reviewed, but still popular with viewers, becoming the most viewed new drama series onITV1 in 2006.[44] Vahimagi wrote that despite "pleasantly skittish performances" from the leads, the show was a "peculiarly dispiriting addition to the list of British detective drama".[31]
Kendal auditioned unsuccessfully forVal May at theBristol Old Vic in early 1966.[46] Some months later, she auditioned for Tynan andLaurence OlivierNational Theatre season at theOld Vic, again without success.[46] She made her London stage debut inMinor Murder (1967) at theSavoy Theatre.[47][48] Kendal andTessa Wyatt played two friends who murdered the mother of one of them, in a play inspired by theParker–Hulme murder case.[48] She was cast as Amaryllis in the 1969 production ofBack to Methuselah at the Old Vic.[14][49]
In 1972, actorsIan McKellen andEdward Petherbridge, after discussion with directorDavid William, formed the Actors' Company, a collective group with members invited by them.[50] The actors would all receive equal pay and would rotate between leading and supporting roles, with posters listing their names in alphabetical order.[51] The founding members wereCaroline Blakiston, Marian Diamond,Robert Eddison,Robin Ellis,Tenniel Evans, Kendal, Matthew Long,Margery Mason, McKellen,Frank Middlemass,Juan Moreno, Petherbridge,Moira Redmond,Sheila Reid,Jack Shepherd,Ronnie Stevens andJohn Tordoff.[52] As part of the company, Kendal played The Maid inRuling the Roost, and Annabella in'Tis Pity She's a Whore at the 1972Edinburgh International Festival.[53] Kendal had departed to look after her new baby by the time the group reconvened in mid-1973.[54]
Kendal won theVariety Club's Best Stage Actress Award for her performance as Marain inMichael Frayn'sClouds (1978) at theDuke of York's Theatre, London.[3][55]
In 1979 she was directed byPeter Hall for the first time, as Constanze Mozart inAmadeus.[9] She later recounted that her experience in the production "taught me to focus on the play rather than the role".[56] A recording with the original cast was broadcast onBBC Radio 3 in 1983.[57] Her stage career blossomed during the 1980s and 1990s when she formed a close professional association withTom Stoppard,[9] starring in the first productions of many of his plays, includingOn the Razzle (1981),The Real Thing (1982),Hapgood (1988), andArcadia (1993).[58][59] The Stoppard scholar Paul Delaney wrote in 1990 that Kendal "first dazzled Stoppard audiences" inOn the Razzle, and made Annie inThe Real Thing a "poignant role".[60] He felt that inHapgood, Kendal gave a "towering performance in the most complex role Stoppard has ever written for a woman."[60] In his 2002 biography of Stoppard,Ira Nadel remarked that "Hannah Jarvis inArcadia is, perhaps, the quintessential Kendal role: energetic, inquisitive, strong and possessed with a touch ofThe Good Life's vibrant celebration of nature."[61]
Kendal and Stoppard started a romantic relationship that lasted for eight years from around November 1990.[59] His radio playIn the Native State (1991) had a dedication "To Felicity Kendal", and, according to Delaney, it "seemed in some ways to be not only for and by but also about Kendal".[59] It was adapted for the stage asIndian Ink (1995) and both versions starred Kendal as Flora Crewe, a poet who moves to India and develops a friendship with an artist played byArt Malik who paints her portrait.[62]The Daily Telegraph criticCharles Spencer found Kendal's performance by turns "funny, mischievous" and "exceptionally touching".[62] Stoppard also made a new translation ofThe Seagull byAnton Chekhov specifically so that Kendal could play Madame Arkadina (1997).[63] In December 2025 Kendal returned toIndian Ink in the role of Mrs Swan, the sister of Flora who she had played in the original production. The later production opened in preview four days after Stoppard's death[64].
She won theEvening Standard Theatre Award in 1989 for her performances inMuch Ado About Nothing andIvanov.[65] Gerard van Werson ofThe Stage wrote that asBeatrice inMuch Ado About Nothing, Kendal "delights ... with her remarkable charm and her beautiful comic timing".[66]
The criticSheridan Morley felt that Kendal was "rapidly becoming our most expert player of classicfarce" after seeing her inMind Millie for Me, an adaptation of aGeorges Feydeau farce at theTheatre Royal Haymarket, London in 1996.[67] Later that year, Geoff Chapman of theToronto Star described Kendal as "once a television sitcom star but now a huge West End draw in serious parts".[68]
Her 2003 performance as Winnie inHappy Days bySamuel Beckett was acclaimed byThe Guardian'sMichael Billington, who praised Kendal for bringing a "genuine emotional reality" to the role.[69] She starred as Esme in the West End revival ofAmy's View (2006) byDavid Hare, which was her tenth collaboration with directorPeter Hall.[9] Hall's "sensitive direction" allowed Kendal to "resoundingly [achieve] both Esme's barbed humour and her sadness" according to Heather Neil ofThe Stage.[70] She appeared in the West End as Florence Lancaster inNoël Coward's playThe Vortex in 2008.[71] InVariety, David Benedict felt that "playing her as a woman who overacts strains Kendal's ability to reveal truthful emotion in the final act".[71]
In 2013, she starred in the first London revival ofRelatively Speaking byAlan Ayckbourn atWyndham's Theatre.[72] Later that year, she toured the UK withSimon Callow inChin-Chin, an English translation byWillis Hall of Francois Billetdoux'sTchin-Tchin.[73] She toured the UK and Australia as Judith Bliss in Noël Coward'sHay Fever, which then played in the West End in 2015.[74][75]
She took her first role in a musical as Evangeline Harcourt in the 2021 London revival ofAnything Goes at theBarbican Theatre.[76][77] In 2023, Kendal starred as Dotty Otley inNoises Off at thePhoenix Theatre and theTheatre Royal Haymarket.[78]The Daily Telegraph reviewer Marianka Swain felt that Kendal was "more brilliant than ever" in the role.[79]
On radio, Kendall starred as Prudence in an adaptation of theeponymous novel byJilly Cooper in 1979.[80]
On the albumShape Up and Dance with Felicity Kendal (1982), Kendal narrated a keep-fit routine based around yoga and ballet.[61][81] It spent 13 weeks in the top 40 of theUK Albums Chart, peaking at number 29 in 1983,[82] and went on to sell over 200,000 copies.[61]
In 1995, Kendal was one of the readers ofEdward Lear poems on a spoken-word CD bringing together a collection of Lear's nonsense songs.[83]
Kendal's first marriage toDrewe Henley (1968–1979) and her second toMichael Rudman (1983–1991) ended in divorce.[3][84] Kendal has two sons, includingCharley Henley.[3] She reunited with Rudman in 1998,[1] and they remained partners until he died on 30 March 2023.[85]
Kendal was brought up in the Catholic faith. Sheconverted to Judaism at the time of her second marriage, but has said about the conversion, "I felt I was returning to my roots."[86] Her conversion took more than three years; she has stated that her decision to convert had "nothing to do" with her husband.[87] Kendal's memoirs, titledWhite Cargo, were published in 1998.[6]
Kendal was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the1995 New Year Honours for services to drama.[2][88] She is an ambassador for the charityRoyal Voluntary Service, previously known as WRVS.[89]
Kendal's first two stage appearances were for her family's company, in England.[90] Having played a changeling boy inA Midsummer Night's Dream when she was nine months old, she was the Changeling in the same play five years later.[90] After the company returned to Asia, her roles included Macduff's son inMacbeth,Puck inA Midsummer Night's Dream, Jessica inThe Merchant of Venice,Ophelia inHamlet, and Viola inTwelfth Night.[90][7]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Love Story | The Turkish Cypriot girl | Episode: "Another Name from Nowhere" | [3] |
| Jenny | Episode: "A Toy Soldier" | [3] | ||
| The Wednesday Play | The girl | Episode: "The May Fly and the Frog" | [15] | |
| 1967 | ITV Play of the Week | Beth Gray | Episode: "Person Unknown" | [3] |
| Boy Meets Girl | Mina | Episode: "Love with a Few Hairs" | [3] | |
| Thirty-Minute Theatre | La Principessa | Episode: "Come Death" | [15] | |
| Half Hour Story | Candy | Episode: "Gone and Never Called Me Mother" | [3] | |
| 1968 | Man in a Suitcase | Marcelle | Episode: "Blind Spot" | [3][16] |
| The Easter Play | Eleonora | Episode:Strindberg's Easter | [15] | |
| 1968–69 | The Tenant of Wildfell Hall | Rose | [3] | |
| 1970 | The Woodlanders | Grace Melbury | [3] | |
| 1972 | Jason King | Toki | Episode: "Toki" | [3] |
| 1973 | Dolly | Dolly | 3 episodes | [3] |
| 1975 | Edward the Seventh[a] | Princess Vicky | 7 episodes | [3] |
| 1975–78 | The Good Life | Barbara Good | [20] | |
| 1976 | Call My Bluff | panelist | [3] | |
| Going for a Song | ||||
| ITV Sunday Night Drama | Nicola | Episode: "Now Is Too Late" | ||
| Murder | Jane | Episode: "A Variety of Passion" | ||
| 1977 | Night of 100 Stars | |||
| 1978 | A Play for Love | Cressida Bell | Episode: "The Marriage Counsellor" | [115][116] |
| ITV Playhouse | Victoria | Episode: "Home and Beauty" | [3] | |
| Clouds of Glory | Dorothy Wordsworth | 2 episodes | ||
| 1980 | BBC Television Shakespeare | Viola | Episode:Twelfth Night | |
| 1981 | Friday Night, Saturday Morning | Guest | ||
| The Theatre Quiz | ||||
| 1981–82 | Solo | Gemma Palmer | ||
| 1983 | The Morecambe & Wise Show | Christmas Special | ||
| 1984 | The Wandering Company | actress,Shakespeare Wallah | Documentary | |
| 1985-1987 | The Mistress | Maxine | ||
| 1986 | Wogan | Guest host | ||
| 1986 | On the Razzle | Christopher | ||
| 1992 | The Camomile Lawn | Helena | ||
| Shakespeare: The Animated Tales: Romeo and Juliet | Narrator | |||
| 1993 | The Full Wax | |||
| 1994 | Honey for Tea | Nancy Belasco | ||
| 1995 | The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends | Voice of Hunca Munca | Episode: "The Tale of Two Bad Mice and Johnny Town-Mouse" | |
| 1996 | French and Saunders | |||
| 1998 | Clive Anderson All Talk | |||
| 1999 | Loose Women | |||
| 2000 | How Proust Can Change Your Life | Narrator | ||
| 2001 | Funny Turns, Felicity Kendal: A Passage from India | |||
| Top Ten: Sex Bombs | ||||
| 2003 | Friday Night with Jonathan Ross | |||
| 2003–2006 | Rosemary & Thyme | Rosemary Boxer | ||
| 2005 | The South Bank Show | Episode: "Peter Hall – 50 Years in Theatre: Part 2" | ||
| 2006 | The Kumars at No. 42 | |||
| The Paul O'Grady Show | ||||
| 2008 | Richard & Judy | |||
| The Alan Titchmarsh Show | ||||
| Arena | Episode: "Paul Scofield" | |||
| Doctor Who | Lady Clemency Eddison | Episode: "The Unicorn and the Wasp" | ||
| 2010 | Strictly Come Dancing (series 8) | contestant | partnered withVincent Simone | [2] |
| The ONE Show | [3] | |||
| BBC Breakfast | ||||
| 2012 | Felicity Kendal's Indian Shakespeare Quest | [117] | ||
| Piers Morgan's Life Stories | guest | [118] | ||
| 2017 | Inside No.9 | Patricia | Episode: "Private View" | [119] |
| 2019 | Pennyworth | Baroness Ortsey | Episode: "Cilla Black" | [120] |
| 2024 | Ludwig | Lady Camilla Bryce | 1 episode | [121] |
| Rivals | Carole Miroy | 1 episode | ||
| 2026 | Small Town Scandal | Sue | [122] |
| Year | Title | Role | Comments | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Shakespeare Wallah | Lizzie Buckingham | [4][3] | |
| 1977 | Valentino | June Mathis | [3] | |
| 1993 | We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story | Elsa (voice) | ||
| 1999 | Parting Shots | Jill Saunders | ||
| TBA | Frank and Percy† | Post-production |
| Year | Award | Category | Details | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Variety Club | Most Promising Artiste | The Norman Conquests | Won | [123] |
| 1979 | Best Actress | Marain,Clouds | Won | [55] | |
| 1980 | Clarence Derwent Award | Best supporting actress | Constanza Mozart,Amadeus | Won | [124] |
| 1984 | Variety Club | Woman of the Year | Won | [31] | |
| 1984 | Best Actress | Won | |||
| 1989 | Evening Standard Theatre Awards | Best Performance by an Actress | Much Ado About Nothing andIvanov | Won | [125] |
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