Jill Angela Henriette Balcon (3 January 192518 July 2009) was a British actress. She was known for her work in film, television, radio and on stage. She made her film debut in ''

Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...

'' (1947). She was the second wife of poet

Cecil Day-Lewis Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis; 27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972), often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Irish-born British poet and Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym of Nicholas Bla ...

; the couple had two children:

Tamasin Day-Lewis Lydia Tamasin Day-Lewis (born 17 September 1953) is an English television chef and food critic, who has also published a dozen books about food, restaurants, recipes and places. She writes regularly for ''The Daily Telegraph'', '' Vanity Fair'', ...

became a food critic and TV chef and

Daniel Day-Lewis Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English retired actor. Often described as one of the preeminent actors of his generation, he received numerous accolades throughout his career which spanned over four decades, incl ...

is an actor.

Life and career

Balcon was born in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, London, the daughter of Aileen Freda Leatherman (1904–1988) and her husband

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

. Her family was Jewish, with 19th-century

Lithuanian Jewish Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent areas o ...

immigrant ancestors from what is now

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

on her father's side and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

on her mother's. Balcon attended

Roedean School Roedean School is an independent day and boarding school founded in 1885 in Roedean Village on the outskirts of Brighton, East Sussex, England, and governed by Royal Charter. It is for girls aged 11 to 18. The campus is situated near the Sus ...

.Tom Vallanc
"Jill Balcon: Actress of stage, screen and radio who married the former [should be "late"] Poet Laureate Cecil Day-Lewis"
''The Independent'', 30 July 2009 She to study acting at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

in 1941 and, over the course of her career, performed on stage and in radio, film, and television. Her debut film was ''Nicholas Nickleby'' (1947). On 3 January 1948, she appeared on the BBC radio programme ''Time for Verse'', where she had already become a favourite for her voice: "a rich, expressive, finely modulated instrument." That night, the Anglo-Irish poet

, who was 21 years her senior, also appeared on the show. That year Balcon worked for a season with the Bristol Old Vic. Balcon and Day-Lewis began a relationship that year, complicated by his marriage to Mary Day-Lewis, who lived with their two teenage boys in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, and his public affair with novelist

Rosamond Lehmann Rosamond Nina Lehmann (3 February 1901 – 12 March 1990) was an English novelist and translator. Her first novel, ''Dusty Answer'' (1927), was a ''succès de scandale''; she subsequently became established in the literary world and intimate ...

, who lived in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. Day-Lewis eventually broke with both his wife and his mistress in order to be with Balcon. (Reputedly he was no more faithful to her than he had been to his first wife or Lehmann.) Balcon starred opposite

Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...

in the film ''

Saraband for Dead Lovers ''Saraband for Dead Lovers'' (released in the United States as ''Saraband'') is a 1948 British historical drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Stewart Granger and Joan Greenwood. It is based on the 1935 novel by Helen Simpson. Set i ...

'' (1948), with

Jean Kent Jean Kent (born Joan Mildred Field; 29 June 1921 − 30 November 2013) was an English film and television actress. Biography Born Joan Mildred Field (sometimes incorrectly cited as Summerfield) in Brixton, London in 1921, the only child of va ...

in '' Good Time Girl'' (1948), and ''

The Lost People ''The Lost People'' is a 1949 British drama film directed by Muriel Box and Bernard Knowles and starring Dennis Price, Mai Zetterling and Richard Attenborough. It is based on the play ''Cockpit'' by Bridget Boland. It was shot partly at Denham S ...

'' (1950). But her first love was the stage. In 1951, Balcon married Day-Lewis. Her father was deeply unhappy about the affair and Balcon being named publicly as co-respondent in Day-Lewis' divorce, and cut her off. After her marriage, she could see her mother only secretly."Obituary: Jill Balcon"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' Cecil Day-Lewis and Jill Balcon shared a great love for poetry and performed together in many public readings. They had two children together:

, who became a documentary filmmaker/television chef and author of food books, and noted actor

. After the children were born, Balcon concentrated on acting in radio and TV productions in order to have more manageable schedules. Balcon died of a

brain tumour A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondary ...

on 18 July 2009, aged 84.

References

External links

Biography and credits at BFI Screenonline
*

Interview British Entertainment History Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Balcon, Jill 1925 births 2009 deaths Actresses from London Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Deaths from brain cancer in England English film actresses English radio actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Jewish English actresses People educated at Roedean School, East Sussex People from Westminster English people of Polish-Jewish descent English people of Latvian-Jewish descent Day-Lewis family