Jenny Runacre (born 18 August 1946) is a South African-born English actress. Her film appearances include '' The Passenger'' (1975), ''

The Duellists ''The Duellists'' is a 1977 British historical drama film and the feature film directorial debut of Ridley Scott. It won the Best Debut Film award at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival. The basis of the screenplay is the Joseph Conrad short story "T ...

'' (1977), ''

Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

'' (1978), ''

The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel ''The Wheel Spins'' by Ethel Lina ...

'' (1979), and '' The Witches'' (1990).

Career

Runacre was born in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. She moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

as a child, attended the Actors' Workshop there, and trained in the Stanislavski System. While attending the Actors' Workshop, Runacre was approached by fellow student (and future agent)

Tom Busby Tom Busby (7 November 1936 – 20 September 2003) was a Canadian actor and agent. Among his film credits were ''The War Lover'' (1962); ''The Dirty Dozen'' (1967) as Milo Vladek, one of the dozen; and ''Heavenly Pursuits'' (1986). Biography ...

, who was working as a runner for an American film production that was seeking fledgling English actresses to play opposite

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and dire ...

in ''

Husbands A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures, ...

'', a film to be shot the following year in London. The young actress auditioned with Cassavetes,

Ben Gazzara Biagio Anthony Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nominatio ...

and

Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series ''Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he ...

, and was told six weeks later that she was being offered the part of Mary Tynan in the film. Runacre accepted the offer and ''Husbands'' became her first important film role. Runacre then joined the original London cast of ''

Oh! Calcutta! ''Oh! Calcutta!'' is an avant-garde, risque theatrical revue created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in the West End in 1970. It ran in London ...

''. Runacre left the cast after a year and starred in such films as

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

's ''

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''Masterpiece, ...

'',

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

's ''

The Mackintosh Man ''The Mackintosh Man'' is a 1973 British Cold War neo noir spy thriller film, directed by John Huston and starring Paul Newman, Dominique Sanda and James Mason. Huston called it "a spy thriller with some amusing moments" that was similar to ...

'',

Robert Fuest Robert Fuest (30 September 1927 – 21 March 2012) was an English film director, screenwriter, and production designer who worked mostly in the horror, fantasy and suspense genres. Biography Born in London, Fuest served his national ser ...

's ''

The Final Programme ''The Final Programme'' is a novel by British science fiction and fantasy writer Michael Moorcock. Written in 1965 as the underground culture was beginning to emerge, it was not published for several years. Moorcock has stated that publishers a ...

'',

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...

's '' The Passenger'', and

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...

's ''

'', in which she starred as

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

and "Bod". She was active in the theatre as well as on British television, including an appearance as an art con artist in an episode of ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...

'' as well as playing Brenda Champion in the noted series ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

''. Runacre focused on higher education in the 1990s. She has a Master's in Fine Art Practice from

Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of ...

. She is currently a lecturer in residence in art, and has worked in

installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

and experimental filmmaking. In 2007, Runacre directed Gareth Parker and Andrew Swann's ''Frozen'', which was nominated for Best Direction, Best Writing and Best Overall Production in the LOST Theatre Festival. She also directed the

Wireless Theatre Company The Wireless Theatre Company is an online audio theatre company specializing in creating modern audio drama. It was founded in July 2007 by Mariele Runacre Temple, daughter of actress Jenny Runacre. Overview The company produces radio drama, au ...

's audio adaption of ''Frozen'' after its successful stage run, featuring the original cast. In 2008, Jenny made her Edinburgh Fringe directing debut with ''Gullibility Factor'' by Peter Yates. In 2008, Jenny appeared in John Maybury's ''

The Edge of Love ''The Edge of Love'' is a 2008 British biographical romantic drama film directed by John Maybury and starring Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys. The script was written by Knightley's mother, Sharman Macdonald. Origi ...

'' (2008) and starred as Alice in Volcano Theatre Company's National tour of ''Alice in Wonderland''.Jenny Runacre's acting profile
on the

website

Selected filmography

* ''

Goodbye, Mr. Chips ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...

'' (1969) * ''

'' (1970) – Mary Tynan * '' Dyn Amo'' (1972) – 1st Girl * ''

'' (1972) – Alison * ''

The Creeping Flesh ''The Creeping Flesh'' is a 1973 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis, written by Peter Spenceley, and starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and Lorna Heilbron. Plot Prof. Emmanuel Hildern (Peter Cushing), a Victorian era scie ...

'' (1973) – Emmanuel's Wife * ''

The MacKintosh Man ''The Mackintosh Man'' is a 1973 British Cold War neo noir spy thriller film, directed by John Huston and starring Paul Newman, Dominique Sanda and James Mason. Huston called it "a spy thriller with some amusing moments" that was similar to ...

'' (1973) – Gerda * ''

'' (1973) – Miss Brunner * '' Son of Dracula'' (1974) – Woman in Black * '' All Creatures Great and Small'' (1975) – Pamela * '' The Passenger'' (1975) – Rachel * ''L'Évasion de Hassan Terro'' (1976) * ''

Joseph Andrews ''The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams'', was the first full-length novel by the English author Henry Fielding to be published and among the early novels in the English language. Appearing in 1742 ...

'' (1977) – The Gypsy * ''

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...

'' (1977) – Sydna * ''

'' (1977) – Mme. de Lionne * ''

Three Dangerous Ladies ''Three Dangerous Ladies'' is a 1977 British-Canadian horror film, horror anthology film composed of three episodes of the six-part ITV Wales & West, Harlech Television and TVOntario, The Ontario Educational Communications Authority co-produced ...

'' (1977) – Mrs. Santander (segment "The Island") * ''

'' (1978) – Queen Elizabeth I / Bod * ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Ins ...

'' (1978) episode "the bigger they are". * ''

'' (1979) – Mrs. Todhunter * ''

Hussy ''Hussy'' is a 1980 British film starring Helen Mirren, John Shea, and Paul Angelis, and directed by Matthew Chapman. Plot Beaty (Mirren) is a prostitute working at a London cabaret where Emory (John Shea) is a sound/lighting technician. Th ...

'' (1980) – Vere * '' The Optimist'' (1985) - Mrs. Big * ''

'' (1981) – Brenda Champion * ''

Shadey ''Shadey'' is a 1985 British comedy film directed by Philip Saville and starring Antony Sher, Billie Whitelaw and Patrick Macnee. The screenplay concerns a man with clairvoyant qualities who is recruited by British intelligence for a secret missi ...

'' (1985) – Shop assistant * ''

That Englishwoman ''That'' is an English language word used for several grammatical purposes. These include use as an adjective, conjunction, pronoun, adverb, and intensifier; it has distance from the speaker, as opposed to words like ''this''. The word did not o ...

'' (1990) – Lady Mary Hobhouse * '' The Witches'' (1990) – Elsie * ''

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

'' (1995) – Painter Lady * ''

'' (2008) – Woman in Yellow Dress * ''

Boogie Woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pia ...

'' (2009) – Mrs. Havermeyer * ''Camberwell Beauty'' (2015) – Dominique * ''Meet Pursuit Delange: The Movie'' (2015) – Miss Haversham * ''Perfect Piece'' (2016) – Mrs. Di Grazia

References

External links

*
Jenny Runacre
on the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

website
Jenny Runacre
on the

website
Jenny Runacre's
personal website {{DEFAULTSORT:Runacre, Jenny 1946 births Living people English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Actresses from Cape Town English people of South African descent South African emigrants to the United Kingdom