Virginia McKenna | |
|---|---|
.jpg) McKenna at an anti badger cull demonstration, Westminster, London, June 2013 | |
| Born | Virginia Anne McKenna (1931-06-07)7 June 1931 (age 94) |
| Alma mater | Royal Central School of Speech and Drama |
| Occupation(s) | Stage and screen actress, author |
| Years active | 1952–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
Dame Virginia Anne McKenna[1] (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author,animal rights activist, and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the filmsThe Cruel Sea (1953),A Town Like Alice (1956),Carve Her Name with Pride (1958),Born Free (1966), andRing of Bright Water (1969), as well as her work with theBorn Free Foundation.[2]
McKenna won theBAFTA Television Award for Best Actress in 1956. ForA Town Like Alice, she won theBAFTA Award for Best British Actress in1957, and in1979 won theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical forThe King and I, making her one of the few to have completed theBritish Triple Crown.
McKenna was born inMarylebone to a theatrical family and was educated at Heron's Ghyll School, a former independent boarding school near themarket town ofHorsham in Sussex. She spent six years inSouth Africa before returning to the school at the age of fourteen, after which she attended theCentral School of Speech and Drama, at that time based at theRoyal Albert Hall, London.[3]
Aged 19, McKenna spent six months atDundee Repertory Theatre. She worked on stage in London'sWest End theatre, making her debut inPenny for a Song. She attracted attention on TV appearing inWinter's Tale withJohn Gielgud andShout Aloud Salvation.[4][5]
McKenna's first film wasThe Second Mrs Tanqueray (1952), followed by a comedy,Father's Doing Fine (1952). She had a small role in the popular war filmThe Cruel Sea (1953) and a better part in the low budget comedyThe Oracle (1953). She received excellent reviews for her stage performance inThe River Line.[5] By June 1953, she was appearing in theWest End production ofWilliam Douglas Home'sThe Bad Samaritan.[6] From 1954 to 1955, she was a member of theOld Vic theatre company, appearing inHenry IV andRichard II.[7]
McKenna returned to films withSimba (1955), a drama about theMau Mau, playingDirk Bogarde's love interest. Rank signed her to a long-term contract[8] and directorBrian Desmond Hurst said, "She has a terrific future, properly handled. She has all the qualities of a young Bergman and a youngKatharine Hepburn.[9] McKenna was also inThe Ship That Died of Shame (1955).
McKenna was given the lead role in the war time dramaA Town Like Alice (1956), oppositePeter Finch. The movie was a big hit at the box office and McKenna won theBAFTA Award for Best Actress for her performance.[10] Exhibitors voted her the fourth most popular British star.[11] In October 1956, John Davis, managing director of Rank, announced her as one of the actors under contract that Davis thought would become an international star.[12]
Travers and McKenna received an offer to go to Hollywood to appear inThe Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957). Travers playedRobert Browning and McKenna had the support part ofElizabeth Barrett Browning's sister. The movie flopped at the box office. The same year, Travers and McKenna, along withMargaret Rutherford andPeter Sellers, co-starred in the comedyThe Smallest Show on Earth, made back in Britain.
McKenna had another hit withCarve Her Name with Pride (1958), playingSecond World WarSOE agentViolette Szabo. She was nominated for another BAFTA Award and was voted the fifth most popular British star of 1958 (and the ninth most popular regardless of nationality).
She and Travers were reunited inPassionate Summer (1958), which was a flop. It was her last film for Rank.Filmink argued "it was a great loss that she eventually parted ways with the studio (due to a combination of pregnancies and her unwillingness to do films on offer) – McKenna was a perfect female star for Rank and had a great warmth and ability to connect with audiences, far more than most of the studio’s late ‘50s female contract stars."[13]
She had a support part in MGM'sThe Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959). McKenna and Travers were also inTwo Living, One Dead (1961), shot in Sweden. She was in an adaptation ofA Passage to India for the BBC in 1965.
McKenna is best remembered for her 1966 role asJoy Adamson in the true-life filmBorn Free for which she received a nomination for aGolden Globe. It was not only a huge success at the box office but a life changing experience for her and her husband Bill Travers who co-starred with her, portraying game warden and conservationistGeorge Adamson. The experience led them to become active supporters for wildanimal rights as well as the protection of their naturalhabitat. McKenna and Travers starred in another animal-themed story,Ring of Bright Water (1969), made for her old studio of Rank, but it failed to matchBorn Free's success.[14]
McKenna appeared inAn Elephant Called Slowly. The film features her close friend conservationist George Adamson and also elephants Eleanor (brought up by conservationistDaphne Sheldrick) and young Pole Pole. The subsequent premature death of Pole Pole inLondon Zoo led to McKenna and her husband to establish Zoo Check in 1984 with their eldest sonWill Travers.[15] Zoo Check was renamed Born Free Foundation in 1991. In 1984 McKenna was involved with a protest against the poor conditions atSouthampton Zoo which was closed a year later.[16]
McKenna occasionally acted in films, notablyWaterloo (1970),Swallows and Amazons (1974),The Gathering Storm (1974), andBeauty and the Beast (1976).
Onstage, in 1979 she won theOlivier Award for Best Actress in a British musical for her performance oppositeYul Brynner inThe King and I. Over the years she appeared in more films but was also very active with television roles and on stage where she continues to make occasional appearances.
McKenna has been responsible for helping create and furnish theGavin Maxwell Museum[17] onEilean Bàn, the last island home of Maxwell, an author andnaturalist, most famous for his bookRing of Bright Water. McKenna and husband Bill Travers starred in the1969 film adaptation of the book.
McKenna is still actively involved at Born Free Foundational as a Trustee.[18]
McKenna was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the2004 New Year Honours for services to wildlife and the arts andDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the2023 New Year Honours for services to wildlife conservation and wild animal welfare.[19][20]
In 1954, McKenna married the actorDenholm Elliott, whom she met on the set ofThe Cruel Sea. Their marriage ended owing to his affairs with men.[21] In 1957, she married another actor,Bill Travers,[22] to whom she remained married until his death in 1994. McKenna and Travers had four children together, one of whom isWill Travers. She is the grandmother of actressLily Travers.
In 1975, McKenna released an album of twelve songs calledTwo Faces of Love, which included two of her own compositions and a sung version of the poem "The Life That I Have" fromCarve Her Name with Pride. The record was released on the Gold Star label with two line drawings of McKenna by her sister-in-lawLinden Travers, but these were replaced by a photograph when the album was reissued on the Rim label in 1979.
McKenna's audiobook work includesThe Secret Garden byFrances Hodgson Burnett,[23] and narration ofThe Lonely Doll byDare Wright.
McKenna is avegetarian.[24] She is a patron ofCinnamon Trust, a national charity that helps elderly people to keep their pets.[25]
McKenna's autobiography,The Life in My Years, was published byOberon Books in March 2009.[26]
| Year | Awards | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Actress | —[a] | Won | [27] |
| 1957 | British Academy Film Awards | Best British Actress | A Town Like Alice | Won | [28] |
| 1959 | Carve Her Name with Pride | Nominated | |||
| 1967 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama | Born Free | Nominated | [29] |
| 1976 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Actress | Shades of Greene: Cheap in August | Nominated | [27] |
| 1979 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Actress in a Musical | The King and I | Won | [30] |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Father's Doing Fine | Catherine | |
| The Second Mrs. Tanqueray | Ellean Tanqueray | ||
| 1953 | The Cruel Sea | Julie Hallam | |
| The Oracle | Shelagh | ||
| 1955 | Simba | Mary Crawford | |
| The Ship That Died of Shame | Helen Randall | ||
| 1956 | A Town Like Alice | Jean Paget | |
| 1957 | The Barretts of Wimpole Street | Henrietta Barrett | |
| The Smallest Show on Earth | Jean Spenser | ||
| 1958 | Carve Her Name with Pride | Violette Szabo | |
| Passionate Summer | Judy Waring | akaStorm Over Jamaica | |
| 1959 | The Wreck of the Mary Deare | Janet Taggart | |
| 1961 | Two Living, One Dead | Helen Berger | |
| 1965 | A Passage to India | Adela Quested | (TV) |
| 1966 | Born Free | Joy Adamson | |
| 1969 | Ring of Bright Water | Mary MacKenzie | |
| An Elephant Called Slowly | Ginny | ||
| 1970 | Waterloo | Duchess of Richmond | |
| 1972–1973 | The Edwardians | Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick | BBC Television miniseries |
| 1974 | Swallows and Amazons | Mother | |
| The Gathering Storm | Clemmie Churchill | (TV) | |
| 1975 | Cheap in August: Shades of Green | Mary Watson | (TV)Thames Television Series |
| 1975 | Beauty and the Beast | Lucy | (TV) |
| 1977 | Holocaust 2000 | Eva Caine | |
| The Disappearance | Catherine | ||
| 1979 | Julius Caesar | Portia | (BBC Television Shakespeare) |
| 1982 | Blood Link | Woman in Ballroom | |
| 1992 | The Lady in Waiting | Miss Peach | Short film |
| 1992 | The Camomile Lawn | Older Polly | (TV miniseries) |
| 1994 | Staggered | Flora | |
| 1996 | September | Violet | (TV) |
| 1998 | Sliding Doors | Mrs. Hammerton | |
| 2005 | A Murder is Announced | Belle Goedler | |
| 2010 | Love/Loss | Mary | |
| 2012 | Leona Calderon | Elderly British Lady | [31] |
| 2016 | Golden Years | Martha Goode | |
| Ethel & Ernest[32] | Lady of the House | (voice) | |
| 2019 | Widow's Walk | Myrtle | |
| 2020 | Wings | Dora | Short film |
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