Virginia McKenna
Encyclopedia
Virginia A. McKenna OBE
(born 7 June 1931, London
) is a British
stage and screen actress, author
and wildlife
campaigner.
then worked on stage in London's West End
theatres before making her motion picture debut in 1952. She continued to appear in both films and on stage and in 1954–1955 was a member of the Old Vic
theatre company. She was married for a few months in 1954 to actor Denholm Elliott
. Her second husband was actor Bill Travers
with whom she had four children, and to whom she was married until his death in 1994.
and two years later was nominated for Best Actress again for her role as the World War II
SOE
agent Violette Szabo
, in 1958's Carve Her Name with Pride
.
However, McKenna is best remembered for her 1966 role as Joy Adamson
in the true-life film Born Free
for which she received a nomination for a Golden Globe
. Bill Travers
, her real life husband, co-starred with her, portraying conservationist George Adamson
, and the experience led them to become active supporters for wild animal rights
and the protection of their natural habitat
. McKenna appeared in An Elephant Called Slowly
, a travelogue of what it was like years ago in Kenya, Africa. The film features her close friend conservationist George Adamson
and also elephants Eleanor (raised by conservationst Daphne Sheldrick) and young Pole Pole. The death of Pole Pole in a zoo was to lead to Virginia and Bill founding the organization Zoo Check. This led to McKenna and her husband becoming involved in the Zoo Check Campaign in 1984 and to their establishing the "Born Free Foundation
" in 1991.
On the stage, in 1979 she won the Olivier Award
for Best Actress in a British musical for her performance opposite Yul Brynner
in The King and I
. Over the years she appeared in more motion pictures but also was very active with television
roles and on stage where she continues to make occasional appearances.
McKenna has also been responsible for helping create and furnish the Gavin Maxwell
museum on Eilean Bàn, the last island home of Maxwell, an author and naturalist
, most famous for his book Ring of Bright Water
, on which the film of the same name was based.
. In March 2009 Virginia McKenna's autobiography, The Life in My Years, was published by Oberon Books
.
Her audiobook work includes The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 7 June 1931, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
stage and screen actress, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
campaigner.
Early career
McKenna trained as an actress at the Central School of Speech and DramaCentral School of Speech and Drama
The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
then worked on stage in London's West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
theatres before making her motion picture debut in 1952. She continued to appear in both films and on stage and in 1954–1955 was a member of the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
theatre company. She was married for a few months in 1954 to actor Denholm Elliott
Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits...
. Her second husband was actor Bill Travers
Bill Travers
William Lindon-Travers was an English actor, screenwriter, director and an animal rights activist, known professionally as Bill Travers.-Life and career:...
with whom she had four children, and to whom she was married until his death in 1994.
Career
In 1956, McKenna won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film, A Town Like AliceA Town Like Alice
A Town Like Alice is a novel by the British author Nevil Shute about a young Englishwoman in Malaya during World War II and in outback Australia post-war....
and two years later was nominated for Best Actress again for her role as the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
SOE
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
agent Violette Szabo
Violette Szabo
Violette Reine Elizabeth Bushell Szabo, GC, was a Second World War French-British secret agent.-Early life and marriage:...
, in 1958's Carve Her Name with Pride
Carve Her Name with Pride
Carve Her Name with Pride is a 1958 British drama film based on the book of the same name by R.J. Minney. Set during World War II, the film is based on the true story of the heroism of Special Operations Executive agent Violette Szabo, with Virginia McKenna in the lead role.The film includes the...
.
However, McKenna is best remembered for her 1966 role as Joy Adamson
Joy Adamson
Joy Adamson was a naturalist, artist, and author best known for her book, Born Free, which describes her experiences raising a lion cub named Elsa...
in the true-life film Born Free
Born Free
Born Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia...
for which she received a nomination for a Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
. Bill Travers
Bill Travers
William Lindon-Travers was an English actor, screenwriter, director and an animal rights activist, known professionally as Bill Travers.-Life and career:...
, her real life husband, co-starred with her, portraying conservationist George Adamson
George Adamson
George Adamson , also known as the "Baba ya Simba" , was a British wildlife conservationist and author...
, and the experience led them to become active supporters for wild animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
and the protection of their natural habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
. McKenna appeared in An Elephant Called Slowly
An Elephant Called Slowly
An Elephant Called Slowly is a Morning Star Productions Ltd. feature film starring Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna as themselves in a story about the couple's real-life adventures with three young African elephants while house-sitting in Kenya. George Adamson , makes an appearance as himself...
, a travelogue of what it was like years ago in Kenya, Africa. The film features her close friend conservationist George Adamson
George Adamson
George Adamson , also known as the "Baba ya Simba" , was a British wildlife conservationist and author...
and also elephants Eleanor (raised by conservationst Daphne Sheldrick) and young Pole Pole. The death of Pole Pole in a zoo was to lead to Virginia and Bill founding the organization Zoo Check. This led to McKenna and her husband becoming involved in the Zoo Check Campaign in 1984 and to their establishing the "Born Free Foundation
Born Free Foundation
The Born Free Foundation is a conservation and animal rescue organization in the United Kingdom. It originated in 1984 as the "Zoo Check Campaign" by actors Virginia McKenna and her husband Bill Travers along with their son Will Travers and four associates....
" in 1991.
On the stage, in 1979 she won the Olivier Award
Laurence Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Award is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London...
for Best Actress in a British musical for her performance opposite Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
in The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
. Over the years she appeared in more motion pictures but also was very active with television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
roles and on stage where she continues to make occasional appearances.
McKenna has also been responsible for helping create and furnish the Gavin Maxwell
Gavin Maxwell
Gavin Maxwell FRSL, FIAL, FZS , FRGS was a Scottish naturalist and author, best known for his work with otters. He wrote the book Ring of Bright Water about how he brought an otter back from Iraq and raised it in Scotland...
museum on Eilean Bàn, the last island home of Maxwell, an author and naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, most famous for his book Ring of Bright Water
Ring of Bright Water
Ring of Bright Water is a British feature film starring Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna in a story about a Londoner and an otter living on the Scottish coast. The film was based upon a 1960 autobiographical book of the same name by Gavin Maxwell, featuring the stars of Born Free, another movie...
, on which the film of the same name was based.
Other interests
For her services to wildlife and to the arts, in 2004 McKenna was made an officer of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. In March 2009 Virginia McKenna's autobiography, The Life in My Years, was published by Oberon Books
Oberon Books
Oberon Books is an independent publisher which specialises in drama and the performing arts. Whilst the majority of Oberon's catalogue is made up of play texts, in recent years it has begun to publish theatrical biographies as well as books on ballet, opera, illustration, photography and...
.
Her audiobook work includes The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published in serial format starting in the autumn of 1910, and was first published in its entirety in 1911. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of English children's...
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden , A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester...
.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Father's Doing Fine Father's Doing Fine Father's Doing Fine is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Henry Cass and starring Richard Attenborough, Heather Thatcher, Noel Purcell and Sid James. It was based on the 1950 play Little Lambs Eat Ivy by Noel Langley.-Cast:... |
Catherine | |
| The Second Mrs. Tanqueray | Ellean Tanqueray | ||
| 1953 | The Cruel Sea The Cruel Sea (film) The Cruel Sea is a 1953 British film from Ealing Studios starring Jack Hawkins and Donald Sinden, with Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister... |
Julie Hallam | |
| The Oracle The Oracle (film) The Oracle is a 1953 British comedy film directed by C.M. Pennington-Richards and starring Robert Beatty, Michael Medwin and Virginia McKenna. A journalist goes on holiday to Ireland where he encounters a fortune-teller... |
Shelagh | ||
| 1955 | Simba Simba (film) Simba is a 1955 British drama film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Dirk Bogarde, Donald Sinden, Virginia McKenna and Basil Sydney... |
Mary Crawford | |
| The Ship That Died of Shame The Ship That Died of Shame The Ship That Died of Shame released in the United States as PT Raiders is a black-and-white 1955 Ealing Studios crime film starring George Baker, Richard Attenborough and Bill Owen.... |
Helen Randall | ||
| 1956 | A Town Like Alice A Town Like Alice (film) A Town Like Alice is a 1956 British drama film, based on the novel by Nevil Shute and with Virginia McKenna and Peter Finch in the leading roles. The film does not follow the whole novel, concluding at the end of Part Two of the book, and many plot details are truncated or omitted... |
Jean Paget | BAFTA Award for Best British Actress BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :... |
| 1957 | The Barretts of Wimpole Street The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957 film) The Barretts of Wimpole Street is a 1957 film originating from the United Kingdom, and was a re-make of the earlier 1934 version by the same director, Sidney Franklin. Both films are based on the play The Barretts of Wimpole Street by Rudolf Besier... |
Henrietta Barrett | |
| The Smallest Show on Earth The Smallest Show on Earth The Smallest Show on Earth is a 1957 British comedy film, directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Peter Sellers and Margaret Rutherford. The supporting cast included Bernard Miles, Leslie Phillips, Francis de Wolff, George Cross, June Cunningham and Sid James... |
Jean Spenser | ||
| 1958 | Carve Her Name with Pride Carve Her Name with Pride Carve Her Name with Pride is a 1958 British drama film based on the book of the same name by R.J. Minney. Set during World War II, the film is based on the true story of the heroism of Special Operations Executive agent Violette Szabo, with Virginia McKenna in the lead role.The film includes the... |
Violette Szabo | Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best British Actress BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :... |
| Passionate Summer Passionate Summer Passionate Summer is a 1958 British drama film directed by Rudolph Cartier and starring Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers and Yvonne Mitchell. It is also known by the alternative title Storm Over Jamaica. It was based on a novel by Richard Mason... |
Judy Waring | aka Storm Over Jamaica | |
| 1959 | The Wreck of the Mary Deare The Wreck of the Mary Deare The Wreck of the Mary Deare is a novel written by British author Hammond Innes and later a movie starring Gary Cooper. It tells the story of the titular ship, which is found adrift at sea by John Sands. Sands boards it hoping to claim it for salvage, but finds the first officer, Gideon Patch, still... |
Janet Taggart | |
| 1961 | Two Living, One Dead Two Living, One Dead Two Living, One Dead is a 1961 Anglo-Swedish existentialist thriller, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Patrick McGoohan, Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers.-Background:... |
Helen Berger | |
| 1965 | A Passage to India A Passage to India A Passage to India is a novel by E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of English literature by the Modern Library and won the 1924 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. Time... |
(TV) | |
| 1966 | Born Free Born Free Born Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia... |
Joy Adamson | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
| 1969 | Ring of Bright Water Ring of Bright Water Ring of Bright Water is a British feature film starring Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna in a story about a Londoner and an otter living on the Scottish coast. The film was based upon a 1960 autobiographical book of the same name by Gavin Maxwell, featuring the stars of Born Free, another movie... |
Mary MacKenzie | |
| An Elephant Called Slowly An Elephant Called Slowly An Elephant Called Slowly is a Morning Star Productions Ltd. feature film starring Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna as themselves in a story about the couple's real-life adventures with three young African elephants while house-sitting in Kenya. George Adamson , makes an appearance as himself... |
Ginny | ||
| 1970 | Waterloo | Duchess of Richmond | |
| 1974 | Swallows and Amazons Swallows and Amazons Swallows and Amazons is the first book in the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome; it was first published in 1930, with the action taking place in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District... |
Mother | |
| The Gathering Storm The Gathering Storm (1974 film) The Gathering Storm is a 1974 American television biopic film, about Winston Churchill's life in the years just prior to, and at the start of, World War II, from 1936 to 1940.... |
Clemmie Churchill | (TV) | |
| 1975 | Beauty and the Beast | Lucy | (TV) |
| 1977 | Holocaust 2000 Holocaust 2000 Holocaust 2000 is a 1977 horror film directed by Alberto De Martino and starring Kirk Douglas.-Plot:Despite doomsday warnings from throngs of locals, wealthy industrialist Robert Caine makes the controversial decision to build a nuclear power plant near a sacred cave in the Middle East... |
Eva Caine | |
| The Disappearance | Catherine | ||
| 1979 | Julius Caesar Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.... |
Portia | (BBC Television Shakespeare BBC Television Shakespeare The BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:... ) |
| 1982 | Blood Link | Woman in Ballroom | |
| 1992 | The Camomile Lawn The Camomile Lawn The Camomile Lawn is a novel by Mary Wesley about the lives of Richard and Helena Cuthbertson and their five nieces and nephews; Calypso, Walter, Polly, Oliver and Sophy. The title refers to a fragrant camomile lawn stretching down to the Cornish cliffs in the garden of the main characters' aunt's... |
Older Polly | (TV miniseries) |
| 1994 | Staggered | Flora | |
| 1996 | September | Violet | (TV) |
| 1998 | Sliding Doors Sliding Doors Sliding Doors is a 1998 British-American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Howitt and starring Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah, and featured John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Virginia McKenna. The music was composed by David Hirschfelder... |
James's Mother | |
| 2010 | Love/ Loss | Mary |
Non-fiction films
- The Lions are Free is the real life continuation of Born FreeBorn FreeBorn Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia...
. This film tells about what happened to the lions that were in the movie Born Free. Bill TraversBill TraversWilliam Lindon-Travers was an English actor, screenwriter, director and an animal rights activist, known professionally as Bill Travers.-Life and career:...
, who had starred with McKenna, wrote, produced and directed the film, along with James Hill, the director of Born Free. Travers and Hill went to a remote area in KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
to visit with the noted conservationist George AdamsonGeorge AdamsonGeorge Adamson , also known as the "Baba ya Simba" , was a British wildlife conservationist and author...
. The film has amazing scenes of George and Bill interacting with lions who are living free. - Christian:The Lion At World's End is a documentary (with a reinaction sequence at the beginning) about the now-famous lion's journey from a London store to George AdamsonGeorge AdamsonGeorge Adamson , also known as the "Baba ya Simba" , was a British wildlife conservationist and author...
's reserve in Kenya. Virginia McKenna and her husband, Bill TraversBill TraversWilliam Lindon-Travers was an English actor, screenwriter, director and an animal rights activist, known professionally as Bill Travers.-Life and career:...
, had a chance meeting with Christian and his owners Ace Bourke and John Rendall. Through McKenna and Travers' connection with George Adamson, the lion was successfully brought to Africa and taught how to fend for himself.
External links
- Born Free Foundation
- Photos from Virginia Mckenna and the Lions from the movie Born Free.
- Eilean Bàn home to the Gavin MaxwellGavin MaxwellGavin Maxwell FRSL, FIAL, FZS , FRGS was a Scottish naturalist and author, best known for his work with otters. He wrote the book Ring of Bright Water about how he brought an otter back from Iraq and raised it in Scotland...
museum, author of Ring of Bright Water - 2004 Virginia McKenna Brief profile