Jane Baxter British actress Date of Birth: 09.09.1919 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Jane Baxter

Jane Baxter, born Feodora Kathleen Alice Forde, was a British actress known for her talent and versatility on both stage and screen. She was born in Bremen, Germany to an Anglo-Irish naval engineer father and a noble German mother, Hedwig von Dieskau, who was a lady-in-waiting to Princess Charlotte. Jane's family owned a castle on the outskirts of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt.

At the age of six, Jane, then known as Ellis Ford, moved to London and began studying acting at the Italia Conti Academy. She made her stage debut at the Adelphi Theatre in 1925, playing an orphan in the short-lived musical 'Love's Prisoner'. It was in 1928 that she caught her first major break, replacing Jean Forbes-Robertson as Peter Pan and adopting the stage name Jane Baxter on the advice of the play's author, J.M. Barrie.

Throughout her career, Baxter received critical acclaim for her performances in both plays and films. She starred in numerous West End shows and became a regular performer at the Liverpool Playhouse. Renowned actor Michael Redgrave called her an "exquisite actress" and even named her godmother to his daughter Vanessa Redgrave.

In 1947, Baxter achieved great success in the play 'The Importance of Being Earnest', alongside John Gielgud and Margaret Rutherford. She also took on classical roles, such as Viola in 'Twelfth Night', which she performed at the Old Vic Theatre in 1948. Baxter's last stage appearance was in John Mortimer's autobiographical play 'A Voyage Round My Father' in the West End, where she reunited with Michael Redgrave.

In addition to her work on stage, Baxter also appeared in television adaptations of plays and had roles in several series, including 'Upstairs, Downstairs', where she played Lady Newbury. Her final television appearance was in the 1992 documentary film 'Missing Believed Lost'.

Outside of her acting career, Jane Baxter had her share of personal tragedies. She married race car driver Clive Dunfee in 1930, and witnessed his fatal accident two years later. In 1939, she married businessman Arthur Montgomery and had two daughters and a son. One of her daughters married James Dugdale, the second Baron Crathorne.

Jane Baxter passed away on September 13, 1996, just four days after her 87th birthday, after a battle with stomach cancer. She was remembered by journalist Tom Vallance as an embodiment of the educated middle-class woman - intelligent, practical, beautiful, and subtly flirtatious with a radiant smile.