Jennifer Kendal Kapoor (28 February 1933 – 7 September 1984) was an English actress and the founder of the

Prithvi Theatre Prithvi Theatre is a Theater (structure), theatre located in the upscale neighbourhood of Juhu, Mumbai. Prithviraj Kapoor the spearhead of one of the most influential actor and director families in Bollywood, the Kapoor family, founded the trave ...

. She was nominated for the

BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performan ...

for the film ''

36 Chowringhee Lane ''36 Chowringhee Lane'' is a 1981 film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by Shashi Kapoor. It marked the directorial debut of Sen, who had until then been known as a leading actress of Bengali cinema. The film was very well recei ...

'' (1981). Her other film appearances included '' Bombay Talkie'' (1970), '' Junoon'' (1978), '' Heat and Dust'' (1983), and '' Ghare Baire'' (1984).

Childhood

Jennifer Kendal was born in

Southport, England Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of Liverpool and southwest of Preston. At the ...

, but spent much of her youth in India. She and younger sister

Felicity Kendal Felicity Ann Kendal (born 25 September 1946) is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, including as Barbara Good in the television ...

were born to Geoffrey Kendal and Laura Liddell, who ran a travelling theatre company, Shakespeareana, which travelled around India as depicted in the book and film, '' Shakespeare Wallah'' (1965) in which Kendal appeared, uncredited, and which starred her husband

Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and producer known primarily for his work in Hindi films. He is considered as one of the greatest and most successful acto ...

, her parents and her sister.

Work and Shashi Kapoor

Shashi Kapoor and Kendal met for the first time in Calcutta, in 1956, where he was part of the

company, while she was playing Miranda in the play ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'', as part of Shakespeareana. Soon, Shashi Kapoor also began to tour with the Shakespeareana Company, and the couple married in July 1958. Kendal and her husband were also instrumental in the rejuvenation of Prithvi Theatre in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, with the opening of their theatre in the

Juhu Juhu (Pronunciation: ͡ʒuɦuː is a suburb of Mumbai. It is known for the sprawling Juhu Beach. It is surrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west, Versova to the north, Vile Parle to the east and Santacruz to the south. Juhu is among the most ...

area of the city in 1978. Kendal and Kapoor also starred in a number of films together, particularly those produced by

Merchant Ivory Productions Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During the ...

. Their first joint starring roles were in '' Bombay Talkie'' (1970), which was also one of the earlier films produced by Merchant Ivory.

Personal life

She had three children with her husband: sons Kunal Kapoor and

Karan Kapoor Karan Kapoor (born 18 January 1962) is an Indian photographer, actor and model. He is the son of actors Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendal. His paternal grandfather was Prithviraj Kapoor and his paternal uncles were Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoo ...

, and daughter Sanjana Kapoor; all are former Hindi actors.Meet the Kapoors

Network 18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (d/b/a Network18 Group) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by the Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chief, a ...

. In 1982, she was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer and subsequently died of the disease in 1984.

Filmography

Actress

* '' Shakespeare Wallah'' (1965) – Mrs Bowen (uncredited) * '' Bombay Talkie'' (1970) – Lucia Lane * '' Junoon'' (1978) – Miriam Labadoor (Ruth's Mother) * ''

'' (1981) Miss Violet Stoneham * '' Heat and Dust'' (1983) – Mrs Saunders * ''

The Far Pavilions ''The Far Pavilions'' is an epic novel of British-Indian history by M. M. Kaye, published in 1978, which tells the story of a British officer during the British Raj. There are many parallels between this novel and Rudyard Kipling's '' Kim'' t ...

'' (1984) – Mrs Viccary * '' Ghare-Baire'' (1984) – Miss Gilby (''The Home and the World'') * ''

Saptapadi Saptapadi () or ''saat phere'' (), is regarded to be the most important rite (Sanskrit: ) of a Hindu wedding ceremony. In this rite, the bride and the groom tie a knot and take seven steps together, or complete seven rounds around a sacred fir ...

'' (1961 Bengali film) - as Desdemona (voice-over)

Costume Design

*'' Mukti'' (1977) *'' Junoon'' (1978)

Awards

* 1980:

Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the Filmfare ...

– ''Junoon'' – Nominated *1982:

Evening Standard British Film Awards The Evening Standard British Film Awards were established in 1973 by London's '' Evening Standard'' newspaper. The Standard Awards is the only ceremony "dedicated to British and Irish talent", judged by a panel of "top UK critics". Each ceremony ...

– Best Actress: ''

'' – Won * 1983:

– ''

'' – NominatedBafta Awards Nominations 1982

British Academy Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

official website.

References

External links

Jennifer Kendal
at the

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

*
Biography from The Kapoor Family website
*
She didn’t really look at me: Shashi Kapoor recounts his and Jennifer Kendal’s first, and lasting, meeting in Calcutta to Deepa Gahlot
' –

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kendal, Jennifer 1934 births 1984 deaths Actresses from Southport English theatre managers and producers British women theatre managers and producers English film actresses English stage actresses English emigrants to India Kapoor family Jennifer Kendal Deaths from cancer in England Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Bengali cinema British expatriate actresses in India 20th-century English businesspeople 20th-century English actresses