Jenny Arean (born Joanna Jenneke Josepha Klarenbeek, 4 October 1942) is a Dutch singer, actress and comedian. She is known for her

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

voice.

Life and career

Arean was born in

Lisse Lisse () is a town and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Western Netherlands. The municipality, which lies within the Duin- en Bollenstreek, covers an area of of which is water. Its population was in . Located within the muni ...

and raised in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. Her father was a waiter and her mother was the singer Conny Renoir. Her mother's mother was also a singer, Henny Verra. When Arean was 14 years old she saw a performance by the Dutch comedian

Wim Sonneveld Willem "Wim" Sonneveld (; 28 June 1917 – 8 March 1974) was a Dutch cabaret artist and singer. Together with Toon Hermans and Wim Kan, he is considered to be one of the 'Great Three' of Dutch cabaret. Sonneveld is generally viewed as a Dutch cu ...

. At that moment she knew where she wanted to be: on stage. Her mother reckoned her too young for that and at the age of 15 Arean quit school and became a housekeeper. In 1960 she got employment at the ABC-cabaret, managed by Wim Kan and his wife Corry Vonk. Vonk suggested she change her name to Jenny Arean. In the late 1960s Arean played in plays, musicals (''En nu naar bed'' by Annie M.G. Schmidt) and television series. From 1963 till 1973 she was married to the Dutch actor

Huib Rooymans Huib is a Dutch given name. Notable people with this name include: * Huib Bakker (born 1965), Dutch physicist * Huib Drion (1917–2004), Dutch law scholar and judge * Huib Emmer (born 1951), Dutch composer * Huib Luns (1881–1942), Dutch pain ...

. They had one daughter, Myra, and divorced because Arean had an affair with her colleague Frans Halsema. In 1977 Arean and Halsema had a big hit with the song Vluchten kan niet meer. In the early 1980s Arean had a relationship with the Dutch journalist and writer

Ischa Meijer Israël Chaim "Ischa" Meijer (14 February 1943 – 14 February 1995) was a Dutch journalist, television presenter, radio presenter, critic and author. He survived the Nazi concentration camp Bergen Belsen along with his parents. Youth Ischa M ...

. Together they played four productions all written by Meijer. He also stimulated her to play solo productions. In 1985 she played the first one in a long sequence: Gescheiden vrouw op oorlogspad. With that she won several awards, among them the Johan Kaart Prize and the Scheveningen Cabaret Prize. In 2018 she received a

Knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

in the

Order of the Dutch Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

Solo productions

*Gescheiden vrouw op oorlogspad (1985) *Voort gaat i.e. weer (1986) *Het Huishoudschoolsyndroom (1991) *De dame zet zich schrap (1992) *Alles heeft zijn prijs (1994) *Voorwaarts en niet vergeten (2000) *Jenny solo (2005) *Jenny Arean in concert (2007)

Theatre/musical

*Hooikoorts (1965/1966) (by Noël Coward) *En nu naar bed (1971) *En God Zag Dat Het Goed Was (1983) (with Ischa Meijer) *Neem je een apie voor me mee (1988) (with George Groot) *Tip Top (1995/1996) *Heerlijk duurt het langst (1998) *Chicago (1999) *Foxtrot (2001) *Klarenbeek and Verbrugge (2002) (with Willeke Alberti) *Telkens weer het dorp (2004) *De Jantjes (2005) *Het Verschil (2007) *New Grounds (2009) (with Tango Dorado) *Jenny Arean and Louis van Dijk (2009)

Film and television

*Het meisje met de blauwe hoed (1972/2004) *'t Schaep met de 5 pooten (2006) *'t Vrije Schaep (met de 5 pooten) (2009) *'t Spaanse Schaep (2010) * Gewoon Vrienden, English title ''

Just Friends ''Just Friends'' is a 2005 American Christmas comedy film directed by Roger Kumble, written by Adam 'Tex' Davis and starring Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein and Christopher Marquette. The plot focuses on a formerly obese high ...

'' (2018)

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arean, Jenny 1942 births Living people Contraltos Dutch actresses Dutch women comedians Dutch cabaret performers People from Lisse 21st-century Dutch women singers 21st-century Dutch singers