Jill Balcon
Encyclopedia
Jill Angela Henriette Balcon (3 January 192518 July 2009) was an English
film and radio actress. She made her film debut in Nicholas Nickleby
(1947), though she was best known for her stage, television, and radio work.
Daughter of Michael Balcon
and Aileen Freda Leatherman (1904–1988), she was born in Westminster
, London to a Jewish
family that originated in the Baltic
s. and attended Roedean
.
In 1951, Balcon married Irish poet Cecil Day-Lewis
, who was 21 years her senior and was married when they began their relationship. He was dividing his time between his mistress Rosamond Lehmann
in Oxfordshire
, his wife, Mary Day-Lewis, and their two teenage sons, in Devon.
Cecil Day-Lewis broke with both his wife and his mistress to be with Balcon for the remainder of his life (although reputedly he was no more faithful to Balcon than he had been to his first wife and to Lehmann). Balcon was cut off by her father when she married Day-Lewis in 1951. Cecil Day-Lewis and Jill Balcon had two children: actor Daniel Day-Lewis
and documentary film
maker/television chef Tamasin Day-Lewis
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
film and radio actress. She made her film debut in Nicholas Nickleby
Nicholas Nickleby (1947 film)
Nicholas Nickleby is a 1947 British drama film directed by Cavalcanti. The screenplay by John Dighton is based on the 1839 novel The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens...
(1947), though she was best known for her stage, television, and radio work.
Daughter of Michael Balcon
Michael Balcon
Sir Michael Elias Balcon was an English film producer, known for his work with Ealing Studios.-Background:...
and Aileen Freda Leatherman (1904–1988), she was born in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, London to a Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
family that originated in the Baltic
Baltic region
The terms Baltic region, Baltic Rim countries, and Baltic Rim refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea.- Etymology :...
s. and attended Roedean
Roedean School
-Roedeanians in fiction:* Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward * Dawn Drummond-Clayton * Emily James...
.
In 1951, Balcon married Irish poet Cecil Day-Lewis
Cecil Day-Lewis
Cecil Day-Lewis CBE was an Irish poet and the Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym of Nicholas Blake...
, who was 21 years her senior and was married when they began their relationship. He was dividing his time between his mistress Rosamond Lehmann
Rosamond Lehmann
Rosamond Nina Lehmann, CBE , was a British novelist. Her first novel, Dusty Answer , was a succès de scandale; she subsequently became established in the literary world and intimate with members of the Bloomsbury set...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, his wife, Mary Day-Lewis, and their two teenage sons, in Devon.
Cecil Day-Lewis broke with both his wife and his mistress to be with Balcon for the remainder of his life (although reputedly he was no more faithful to Balcon than he had been to his first wife and to Lehmann). Balcon was cut off by her father when she married Day-Lewis in 1951. Cecil Day-Lewis and Jill Balcon had two children: actor Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
and documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
maker/television chef Tamasin Day-Lewis
Tamasin Day-Lewis
Lydia Tamasin Day-Lewis, better known as Tamasin Day-Lewis, is an English television chef, daughter of the poet Cecil Day-Lewis and actress Jill Balcon, and sister of the actor Daniel Day-Lewis.-Biography:...
.