Jill Townsend (born January 25, 1945) is an Anglo-American actress best known for her roles as Elizabeth Chynoweth in ''

Poldark ''Poldark'' is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, published from 1945 to 1953 and continued from 1973 to 2002. The first novel, '' Ross Poldark'', was named for the protagonist of the series. The novel series was adapted twice ...

'' and Dulcey Coopersmith in the 1967 western television series ''

Cimarron Strip ''Cimarron Strip'' is an American Western television series starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown. The series was produced by the creators of '' Gunsmoke'', and aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Reruns of the original show ...

''.

Life and career

Townsend was born in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Her father, Robert Townsend, a former head of

Avis Avis is Latin for bird and may refer to: Aviation *Auster Avis, a 1940s four-seat light aircraft developed from the Auster Autocrat (abandoned project) *Avro Avis, a two-seat biplane *Scottish Aeroplane Syndicate Avis, an early aircraft built by ...

, wrote the bestseller ''Up the Organization''. Her mother was the daughter of Frank Tours, a famous English born musician and conductor whose credits include an association with Irving Berlin. Jill, who was a debutante, graduated in 1963 from The Master's School in Dobbs Ferry, New York. At that time, she moved to England where she had been accepted into The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. After co-starring with

Nicol Williamson Thomas Nicol Williamson (14 September 1936 – 16 December 2011) was a Scottish actor, once described by playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando". He was also described by Samuel Beckett as "touched by genius" and view ...

in John Osborne's 1965 London stageplay ''

Inadmissible Evidence Admissible evidence, in a court of law, is any testimonial, documentary, or tangible evidence that may be introduced to a factfinder—usually a judge or jury—to establish or to bolster a point put forth by a party to the proceeding. Fo ...

'', she became engaged to Williamson and lived with him for 21 months. However, due to his volatile personality she temporarily split with him at which time she married actor Tom Sutton (68-69). After that brief marriage she reunited with Williamson. They were married from 1971 to 1977. Their son Luke Williamson was born in 1973, but in 1976 she and Nicol Williamson parted temporarily after Townsend began a relationship with Alan Price, her co-star in ''Alfie Darling''. Townsend ended her acting career in 1985. She studied at the London School of Journalism and worked as a journalist for the '' Daily Mail'', contributing a page for the financial section. She moved back to the United States in 1989. She worked as a council trainer and facilitator at Crossroads School, Santa Monica, California and several other schools from 1989 to 1995. She was on the Board of Directors at Leadership Directories, Inc. starting in 1993, but is no longer serving. She is currently married to Bob Sorel whom she wed in 1993.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* 1945 births Living people American expatriates in the United Kingdom American television actresses American film actresses Alumni of the London School of Journalism Actresses from Santa Monica, California 20th-century American actresses American women journalists Daily Mail journalists 21st-century American women {{US-screen-actor-1940s-stub