Jane Seymour (actress)

Jane Seymour OBE
Jane Seymour at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg (1951-02-15) 15 February 1951 Hayes, London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1969–present
Spouse(s)	Michael Attenborough (1971–73; divorced) Geoffrey Planer (1977–78; divorced) David Flynn (1981–92; divorced; 2 children) James Keach (1993–2015; divorced; 2 children)
Website	www.janeseymour.com

Jane Seymour, OBE (born Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg; 15 February 1951) is a British-American actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die (1973), Somewhere In Time (1980), East of Eden (1981), Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988), War and Remembrance (1988), the 1989 political thriller La Révolution française as the ill-fated queen Marie Antoinette, Wedding Crashers (2005), and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993–1998). She has earned an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[1] She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2000.^[2]

Early life

Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg was born 15 February 1951^[3] in Hayes, Middlesex, England, the daughter of Mieke (van Tricht), a nurse, and John Benjamin Frankenberg, an obstetrician.^[4][5] Her father was Jewish; he was born in England, to a family was from Poland (village of Nowe Trzepowo).^[6] Her mother was a Dutch Protestant (with family from Deventer) who was a prisoner of war during World War II, and who had lived in Indonesia.^[7][8][9] Jane's paternal grandfather had come to live in the East End of London after escaping the Czarist pogroms when he was 14. He is listed in the 1911 census for Bethnal Green, working as a hairdresser, and eventually went on to have his own company.^[10]

Seymour was educated at the Arts Educational School in Tring, Hertfordshire. She took on the stage name "Jane Seymour" after King Henry VIII's third wife, as it seemed more saleable.^[7]

Acting career

In 1969, Seymour appeared uncredited in her first film, Richard Attenborough's Oh! What a Lovely War. In 1970, Seymour appeared in her first major film role in the war drama The Only Way. She played Lillian Stein, a Jewish woman seeking shelter from Nazi persecution. In 1973, she gained her first major television role as Emma Callon in the successful 1970s series The Onedin Line. During this time, she appeared as female lead Prima in the two-part television miniseries Frankenstein: The True Story. She also appeared as Winston Churchill's lover Pamela Plowden in Young Winston, produced by her father-in-law Richard Attenborough.

In 1973, Seymour achieved international fame in her role as Bond girl Solitaire in the James Bond film Live and Let Die. IGN ranked her as 10th in a Top 10 Bond Babes list.^[11] In 1975, Seymour was cast as Princess Farah in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, the third part of Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad trilogy. The film was not released until its stop motion animation sequences had been completed in 1977. In 1978, she appeared as Serina in the Battlestar Galactica film, and in the first five episodes of the television series. Seymour returned to the big screen in the comedy Oh Heavenly Dog opposite Chevy Chase.

Seymour at the Emmy Awards, 1988

In 1980, Seymour was given the role of young theatre actress Elise McKenna in the period romance Somewhere in Time. Though the film was made with a markedly limited budget, the role enticed Seymour with a character she felt she knew. The effort was a decided break from her earlier work, and marked the start of her friendship with co-star Christopher Reeve.

In 1981, she appeared in the television film East of Eden, based on the novel by John Steinbeck. Her portrayal of main antagonist Cathy Ames won her a Golden Globe.^[12] In 1982, she appeared in The Scarlet Pimpernel with Anthony Andrews and Ian McKellen. In 1984, Seymour appeared nude in the film Lassiter, co-starring Tom Selleck, but the film was a box office flop. In 1987, Seymour was the subject of a pictorial in Playboy magazine, although she did not pose nude.^[13]

In 1988, Seymour got the female lead in the 12-part television miniseries War and Remembrance, the continued story from the miniseries The Winds of War, in which she played Natalie Henry, an American Jewish woman trapped in Europe during World War II. That role had been played by Ali MacGraw in the first series, but Seymour campaigned for the role when the continuation was planned, and made a screen test which convinced the director and producer Dan Curtis that she was better suited for it.

In 1989, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution, Seymour appeared in the television film La révolution française, filmed in both French and English. Seymour appeared as the doomed French queen, Marie Antoinette; the actress's two children, Katherine and Sean, appeared as the queen's children.

Seymour at the Emmy Awards, 1994

In the 1990s, Seymour earned popular and critical praise for her role as Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn in the television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and its television sequels (1993–2001). Her work on the series earned her a second Golden Globe Award. While working on the series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, she met her fourth husband, actor-director James Keach.

In the 2000s, Seymour continued to work primarily in television. In 2004 and 2005, she made six guest appearances in the WB Network series, Smallville, playing Genevieve Teague, the wealthy, scheming mother of Jason Teague (Jensen Ackles). In 2005, Seymour returned to the big screen in the comedy Wedding Crashers, playing Kathleen Cleary, wife of fictional United States Secretary of the Treasury William Cleary, played by Christopher Walken. In spring 2006, she appeared in the short-lived WB series Modern Men. Later that year, Seymour guest-starred as a law-school-professor on an episode of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and as a wealthy client on the Fox legal drama, Justice. In 2007, she guest-starred in the ABC sitcom, In Case of Emergency, which starred Lori Loughlin and Jonathan Silverman. She also appeared in ITV's Marple: Ordeal By Innocence, based on the Agatha Christie novel. She was a contestant on season five of the US reality show, Dancing with the Stars; she finished in sixth place, along with her partner, Tony Dovolani. In "One Life to Lose" Jane Seymour guest starred in a soap opera-themed storyline of the ABC crime-dramedy Castle.

Seymour appeared in the Hallmark Channel film Dear Prudence (2008) with Jamey Sheridan and Ryan Cartwright, the romantic comedy Love, Wedding, Marriage (2011) with Mandy Moore, and the Hallmark Movie Channel film Lake Effects (2012) with Scottie Thompson and Madeline Zima.

Writing and fashion careers

In the 1980s, Seymour began a career as a writer of self-help and inspirational books, including Jane Seymour's Guide to Romantic Living (1986), Two at a Time: Having Twins (2002), Remarkable Changes (2003), and Among Angels (2010). She also co-authored several children's books with her then-husband James Keach for the This One 'N That One series.^[4]

In 2008, Seymour replaced Selina Scott as the new face of fashion label CC (formerly known as Country Casuals).^[14][15]

in 2008, Ms. Seymour teamed up with and designed the "Open Heart Collection" for Kay Jewelers, which promoted it with the advice, "Keep your heart open, and love will always find its way in."^[16]

Personal life

Jane Seymour at the Academy Awards, 2010

Seymour was married four times. Her first marriage to Michael Attenborough, the son of film actor and director Richard Attenborough, lasted from 1971 to 1973.^[4] Her second marriage to Geoffrey Planer lasted from 1977 to 1978.^[4]

In 1981, Seymour married David Flynn. The marriage produced two children, actress Katherine Flynn, born 7 January 1982, and Sean Flynn, born 31 July 1985. The couple were divorced in 1992.^[4] In 1993, Seymour married actor James Keach. Together they had twins, John Stacy and Kristopher Steven, born 30 November 1995, and named after family friends Johnny Cash and Christopher Reeve, and James's brother, actor Stacy Keach.^[1] On 12 April 2013 it was announced that the couple was divorcing.^[17] The divorce was finalised in December 2015.^[18]

In February 2005, Seymour became a naturalized citizen of the United States.^[19]

Seymour is a celebrity ambassador for Childhelp, a national non-profit organisation dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect.^[20] In 2007, she sponsored a children's Art Pillow contest as part of the Jane Seymour Collection, with the proceeds going to Childhelp.^[21]

Bibliography

• Among Angels. Guideposts, 2010. ISBN 978-0-8249-4850-4
• Boing!: No Bouncing on the Bed. This One 'N That One series. With James Keach. Putnam Juvenile, 1999. ISBN 978-0-399-23440-8
• Gus Loved His Happy Home. With Seymour Fleishman. Linnet Books, 1989. ISBN 978-0-208-02249-3
• Jane Seymour's Guide to Romantic Living. Macmillan Publishers, 1986. ASIN: B003JFVAKC.
• Making Yourself at Home: Finding Your Style and Putting It All Together. DK Adult, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7566-2892-5
• Open Hearts: If Your Heart Is Open, Love Will Always Find Its Way In. Running Press, 2008. ISBN 0-7624-3662-X
• Remarkable Changes: Turning Life's Challenges into Opportunities. New York: HarperEntertainment, 2003. ISBN 978-0-06-008747-0
• Splat!: The Tale of a Colorful Cat. This One 'N That One series. With James Keach. Turtleback Books, 2001. ISBN 978-1-4176-0825-6
• Two at a Time: Having Twins: The Journey Through Pregnancy and Birth. With Pamela Patrick Novotny. Atria Books, 2002. ISBN 978-0-671-03678-2
• Yum!: A Tale of Two Cookies. This One 'N That One series. With James Keach. Angel Gate, 1998. ISBN 978-1-932431-08-7

Filmography

Film

TV series

Awards

• 1981 Saturn Award for Somewhere in Time (1980)
• 1982 Golden Globe for East of Eden (1981)^[1]
• 1988 Emmy Award^[22] for Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988)
• 1996 Golden Globe Award for Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman (1993)^[1]
• 2000 OBE Officer of the Order of the British Empire^[2]
• 2010 Ellis Island Medal of Honor

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jane Seymour (actress) (category)

• Jane Seymour
• Jane Seymour on Facebook
• Jane Seymour at the Internet Movie Database
• Jane Seymour at the TCM Movie Database
• Jane Seymour at AllMovie
• Jane Seymour at Emmys.com