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Sarah Millicent Hermione Touchet-Jesson, Baroness Audley, ''née'' Spencer-Churchill (7 October 1914 – 24 September 1982), was an English
actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
and dancer and a daughter of
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
.


Early life

Sarah Churchill was born in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
, the second daughter of
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
, later
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955, and Clementine Churchill, later Baroness Spencer-Churchill; she was the third of the couple's five children and was named after Sir Winston's ancestor,
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, Princess of Mindelheim, Countess of Nellenburg (née Jenyns, spelt Jennings in most modern references; 5 June 1660 (Old Style) – 18 October 1744), was an English courtier who rose to be one of th ...
. She was educated at Notting Hill High School as a day girl and later at
North Foreland Lodge (To do good and be happy) , established = 1909 , closed = 2003 , type = Independent , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = , head = , r_head_label = , r_head ...
as a boarder.


Personal life

Churchill married three times: # Vic Oliver, born Victor Oliver von Samek, a popular comedian and musician (1936–1945) (divorced) # Antony Beauchamp (1949–1957) (widowed) # Thomas Percy Henry Touchet-Jesson, 23rd Baron Audley (1962–1963) (widowed) It has been both stated and confirmed by multiple sources, including Sarah Churchill's sister, Lady Soames, that Winston and Clementine Churchill neither liked nor approved of Sarah's first two husbands. Towards the end of her marriage to Vic Oliver, she began an affair with the American ambassador to Britain, John Winant; it is believed the failure of the relationship contributed to the depression that led to Winant's suicide in 1947. Only Sarah's third marriage to Lord Audley (the love of her life, it was said) was greeted with warm approval by both parents. In numerous books about the Churchill family, it is said that Clementine (despite her disapproval) managed to be polite to both Vic Oliver and Anthony Beauchamp after Sarah had married them, but Winston Churchill remained rather cold and hostile toward both, considering them to be self-centred, superficial types who ultimately did not make his beloved Sarah either happy or fulfilled. Sarah's marriage to Beauchamp in America in 1949 came as a shock to her parents since they had neither been introduced to Beauchamp nor informed of the forthcoming marriage. Despite her stubborn rebellion against the expectations of both parents, Sarah reportedly felt guilty about this for the rest of her life, since she had craved her father's approval in most matters. In 1964 Sarah became romantically involved with African-American emigrated jazz singer and painter Lobo Nocho, and there were reports that the two might marry. Her father was also believed to have disapproved of this relationship.


Second World War service

During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, Churchill joined the
Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...
(WAAF). In her account of the work of
photo reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of imag ...
''Evidence in Camera''
Constance Babington Smith Constance Babington Smith MBE, FRSL (15 October 1912 – 31 July 2000) was a British journalist and writer, but is probably best known for her wartime work in imagery intelligence. Early life Constance Babington Smith was born on 15 Octob ...
records that she was with them and worked closely on the interpretation of photographs for the 1942 invasion of
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, ''
Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – 16 November 1942) was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while al ...
''. Known by the name Sarah Oliver, Babington Smith says she was "a quick and versatile interpreter." Aspects of Churchill's wartime service are also described in detail in ''Women of Intelligence: Winning the Second World War with Air Photos.'' American author Christopher Ogden's biography of Pamela Harriman and other sources indicate that during the war she had an affair with (married) US Ambassador John Gilbert Winant, and that it ended badly. Winant committed suicide in 1947. Catherine Grace Katz's book, ''The daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Family, Love, and War'' describes Sarah, Kathleen Harriman and Anna Roosevelt Halsted, playing a key role in the
Yalta conference The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...
, as they managed their temperamental fathers.


Acting career

Churchill is best known for her role in the film ''
Royal Wedding ''Royal Wedding'' is a 1951 American musical comedy film directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Set in 1947 London at the time of the wedding of Princess Eli ...
'' (1951) as Anne Ashmond, romantic interest of
Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
as Tom Bowen. In the same year, she had her own television show. She also appeared in ''
He Found a Star ''He Found a Star'' is a 1941 British musical film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Vic Oliver, Sarah Churchill and Evelyn Dall. It concerns a frustrated stage manager who quits his job and, with his secretary's help, sets up a th ...
'' (1941), '' Spring Meeting'' (1941), ''
All Over the Town ''All Over the Town'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Derek N. Twist and starring Norman Wooland, Sarah Churchill and Cyril Cusack. It was based on the 1947 novel by R. F. Delderfield. Premise After serving in the RAF during the ...
'' (1949), '' Fabian of the Yard'' (1954) and '' Serious Charge'' (1959). On 17 November 1950, Churchill starred in "Witness for the Prosecution", an episode of the American TV program ''
Danger Danger is a lack of safety and may refer to: Places * Danger Cave, an archaeological site in Utah * Danger Island, Great Chagos Bank, Indian Ocean * Danger Island, alternate name of Pukapuka Atoll in the Cook Islands, Pacific Ocean * Danger Is ...
''. She appeared on both the
Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...
radio and television programmes. On television, she appeared on the episode "How Jack Met Rochester". In 1960, she appeared as Lisa Grayson in the play "The Night Life of a Virile Potato" by Gloria Russell at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London. In 1961, she appeared as Rosalind in Shakespeare's ''
As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 h ...
'' at the Pembroke-in-the-round Theatre in West
Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...
. Her parents were noted as paying a surprise visit to watch her performance, which was almost entirely attended by Croydon schoolchildren. Her father, who sat in the front row of an in-the-round performance and so was highly visible throughout, fell asleep.


Prints

During the course of her life she created several lithographic prints. In the 1950s Churchill produced several prints featuring Malibu, California. Later in the 1970s, Churchill commercially published a collaborative series of portraits of her father, Sir Winston Churchill through Curtis Hooper, entitled "A Visual Philosophy of Sir Winston Churchill". The series was carefully constructed by Churchill to represent her father's great drive. In the series, (28 in total) most of the works were based on famous photographs chosen by Churchill, while one was based on Churchill's drawing of her father. Each work was given an embossed quotation by Sir Winston Churchill and was signed by both Sarah Churchill and artist Curtis Hooper in pencil and pressed with the artists seal. Artist proofs were made available for each work, with a run of no more than 150 artist proofs, per work, also signed by both Sarah Churchill and artist Curtis Hooper in pencil, below the portrait. All artist proofs bore the artist's embossed seal.


Alcoholism

Sarah Churchill appeared in a London revival of Shaw's '' Pygmalion'' in the 1950s, but drinking had become a problem. She was arrested for making a scene in the street on a number of occasions and even spent a short spell on remand in Holloway Prison. She wrote frankly about this in her 1981
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
''Keep on Dancing''.


Death and interment

Sarah Churchill died on 24 September 1982 at the age of 67. She is buried with her parents and three of her siblings (Marigold had previously been buried in
Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...
in London) at St Martin's Church, Bladon, near
Woodstock, Oxfordshire Woodstock is a market town and civil parish, north-west of Oxford in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 3,100. Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is next to W ...
.''Resting Places''
/ref>


Filmography

* '' Who's Your Lady Friend?'' (1937) * '' Spring Meeting'' (1941) * ''
He Found a Star ''He Found a Star'' is a 1941 British musical film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Vic Oliver, Sarah Churchill and Evelyn Dall. It concerns a frustrated stage manager who quits his job and, with his secretary's help, sets up a th ...
'' (1941) * ''
Fatal Symphony ''Fatal Symphony'' (Italian: ''Sinfonia fatale'') is a 1947 Italian war- melodrama film directed by Victor Stoloff and starring Douglass Montgomery, Marina Berti and Sarah Churchill. It was screened and awarded a prize at the Lugano Festival.L ...
'' (1947) * ''
Daniele Cortis ''Daniele Cortis'' (also known as ''Elena'') is a 1947 Italian drama film directed by Mario Soldati and starring Vittorio Gassman, Sarah Churchill and Gino Cervi. The film (set in nineteenth-century Italy) follows the impossible love affair bet ...
'' (1947) * ''
All Over the Town ''All Over the Town'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Derek N. Twist and starring Norman Wooland, Sarah Churchill and Cyril Cusack. It was based on the 1947 novel by R. F. Delderfield. Premise After serving in the RAF during the ...
'' (1949) * ''
Royal Wedding ''Royal Wedding'' is a 1951 American musical comedy film directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Set in 1947 London at the time of the wedding of Princess Eli ...
'' (1951) * '' Fabian of the Yard'' (1954) * '' Serious Charge'' (1959)


See also

*'' The Daughters of Yalta'' (2020) book


Notes


References


External links


The Papers of Sarah Churchill
held at th
Churchill Archives Centre
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Sarah 1914 births 1982 deaths Military personnel from London Audley, Sarah Churchill, Baroness Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom British female dancers English film actresses English people of American descent English stage actresses English television actresses People educated at North Foreland Lodge Sarah Tuchet-Jesson Winston Churchill Actresses from London People educated at Notting Hill & Ealing High School Actresses from Kent Burials at St Martin's Church, Bladon 20th-century English actresses Women's Auxiliary Air Force officers English autobiographers Daughters of life peers Dancers from London