Rachel, Lady Redgrave (28 May 1910 – 24 May 2003), known primarily by her birth name Rachel Kempson, was an English actress. She married Sir

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elec ...

, and was the matriarch of the famous acting dynasty.

Career

Kempson trained at

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the S ...

before joining the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. She married Michael Redgrave in 1935 and the couple appeared together many times on stage. She also appeared many times on film and television, most notably in the films '' The Captive Heart'', ''

The Sea Shall Not Have Them ''The Sea Shall Not Have Them'' is a 1954 British war film starring Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Steel. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and is based on the 1953 novel by John Harris, about a North Sea rescue during the Second W ...

'' (both opposite her husband

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

), '' The Jokers'', ''

Two Gentlemen Sharing ''Two Gentlemen Sharing'' is a 1969 British drama film directed by Ted Kotcheff, written by Evan Jones, and starring Robin Phillips, Judy Geeson, Esther Anderson, Hal Frederick, Norman Rossington and Rachel Kempson. The film cost an estimate ...

'', '' Out of Africa'', ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the di ...

'', and the television series '' Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill'' (1974) and '' The Jewel in the Crown''. She made three films with her daughter Lynn (''

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

'', '' Georgy Girl'' and ''

The Virgin Soldiers ''The Virgin Soldiers'' is a 1966 comic novel by Leslie Thomas, inspired by his own experiences of National Service in the British Army. It was Thomas' debut novel; he had previously published an autobiography. ''The Virgin Soldiers'' sold mil ...

''), and two films with her other daughter Vanessa (''

The Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to se ...

'' – which also starred her son

Corin Corin is a given name in English deriving from the Latin Quirinus, a Roman god. The meaning is unclear but is probably associated with "spear". The name is that of a character in William Shakespeare's ''As You Like It''. It is also used as a fami ...

– and ''

Déjà Vu ''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is a French loanword for the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford Univers ...

''). Her 1986 autobiography, ''Life Among the Redgraves'' was published by Dutton. According to ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', "Lady Redgrave writes with candour, wit, restraint and some sadness about her background, beginnings in the theatre in 1932, marriage and motherhood, the trials of moving and the problems of being married to a handsome matinee idol."

Personal life

Kempson was born in Dartmouth,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, the daughter of Beatrice Hamilton (née Ashwell) and Eric William Edward Kempson, a headmaster. Kempson married fellow actor

in 1935, and became the daughter-in-law of

Roy Redgrave George Ellsworthy "Roy" Redgrave (26 April 1873 – 25 May 1922) was an English stage and silent film actor. Redgrave is considered to be the first member of the Redgrave acting dynasty. Early life Born George Edward Redgrave in 122 Kenningt ...

and

Margaret Scudamore Margaret Scudamore (13 November 1881 – 5 October 1958) was an English theatre and film actress who began in '' ingenue'' roles before achieving a prolonged career in stage and screen support roles. She and her first husband, Roy Redgrav ...

. Kempson was the mother of Vanessa (born 1937),

(1939–2010) and

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. B ...

(1943–2010) and the grandmother of Joely and Natasha Richardson (1963–2009), Jemma Redgrave, Luke Redgrave, Arden Redgrave, Harvey Redgrave,

Carlo Gabriel Nero Carlo Gabriel Redgrave Nero (born Carlo Gabriel Sparanero; 16 September 1969) is an Italian-English screenwriter and film director. Biography The son of actors Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave, his maternal half-sisters are actresses Joely ...

, Benjamin B. Clark, Kelly B. Clark and Annabel Lucy Clark. In 1959, her husband was knighted and she formally became Lady Redgrave. However, she refused to use her title professionally. In 2003, four days before what would have been her 93rd birthday, she died of a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

at the home of her granddaughter, Natasha Richardson, in Millbrook, New York. Richardson died on 18 March 2009 in a skiing accident and was buried near Kempson. Kempson's youngest daughter,

, was buried in the same cemetery on 8 May 2010, near Kempson and Richardson.

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Rachel Kempson
interview on BBC Radio 4 ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'', 5 May 1989 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kempson, Rachel 1910 births 2003 deaths British expatriates in the United States 20th-century English actresses Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses People from Dartmouth, Devon Royal Shakespeare Company members Actresses from Devon Redgrave family Wives of knights