Jane Seymour - Biography

Jane Seymour, OBE (born Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg; 15 February 1951) is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die (1973), East of Eden (1982), Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988), and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993–1998). She has earned an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was made a member of the Order of the British Empire in 2000.

Early life

Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg was born in 15 February 1951 in Hayes, Middlesex, England, the daughter of John Benjamin Frankenberg, an obstetrician, and Mieke, a nurse. Her father was a British Jew whose family was from Poland. Her mother was a Dutch Protestant who was a prisoner of war during World War II. Seymour was educated at The Arts Educational School in Tring, Hertfordshire, in England. She took on the stage name "Jane Seymour" after King Henry VIII's third wife.

Acting career

In 1969, Seymour appeared uncredited in her first film, Richard Attenborough's Oh! What a Lovely War. In 1970, Seymour appeared in her first major film role in the war drama The Only Way. She played Lillian Stein, a Jewish woman seeking shelter from Nazi persecution. In 1973, she gained her first major television role as Emma Callon in the successful 1970s series The Onedin Line. During this time, she appeared as female lead Prima in the two-part television miniseries Frankenstein: The True Story. She also appeared as Winston Churchill's lover Pamela Plowden in Young Winston, produced by her father-in-law Richard Attenborough.

In 1973, Seymour achieved international fame in her role as Bond girl Solitaire in the James Bond film Live and Let Die. IGN ranked her as 10th in a Top 10 Bond Babes list. In 1975, Seymour was cast as Princess Farah in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, the third part of Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad trilogy. The film was not released until its stop motion animation sequences had been completed in 1977. In 1978, she appeared as Serina in the Battlestar Galactica film, and then later in the first two episodes of the television series that followed.

In 1980, Seymour returned to the big screen in the comedy Oh Heavenly Dog opposite Chevy Chase, and as Elise McKenna in the romantic fantasy Somewhere in Time opposite Christopher Reeve. In 1981, she appeared in the television film East of Eden—based on the novel by John Steinbeck. In 1982, she appeared in The Scarlet Pimpernel with Anthony Andrews and Ian McKellen. In 1984, Seymour appeared nude in the film Lassiter, co-starring Tom Selleck, but the film was a box office failure. In 1987, Seymour was the subject of a pictorial in Playboy magazine, although she did not actually pose nude.

In 1988, Seymour appeared as the female lead in the 12-part television miniseries War and Remembrance, in which she played Natalie Henry, an American Jewish woman trapped in Europe during World War II. The series was based on a successful novel by Herman Wouk, and is noted for its accurate, and graphic, depiction of the Holocaust. In 1989, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution, Seymour appeared in the television movie La révolution française, filmed in both French and English. Seymour appeared as the doomed French queen, Marie Antoinette; the actress' two children, Katherine and Sean, appeared as the queen's children.

In the 1990s, Seymour earned popular and critical praise for her role as Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn in the television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and its television sequels (1993–2001). Her work on the series earned her a second Golden Globe Award. While working on the series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, she met her fourth husband, actor-director James Keach.

In the 2000s, Seymour continued to work primarily in television. In 2004, she made several guest appearances in the WB Network series, Smallville, playing Genevieve Teague, the wealthy, scheming, mother of Jason Teague (Jensen Ackles). In 2005, Seymour returned to the big screen in the comedy Wedding Crashers, playing Kathleen Cleary, wife of fictional United States Secretary of the Treasury William Cleary, played by Christopher Walken. In spring 2006, she appeared in the short-lived WB series Modern Men. Later that year, Seymour guest-starred as a law-school-professor on an episode of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and as a wealthy client on the Fox legal drama, Justice. In 2007, she guest-starred in the ABC sitcom, In Case of Emergency, which starred Lori Loughlin and Jonathan Silverman. She also appeared in ITV's Marple: Ordeal By Innocence, based on the Agatha Christie novel. She was a contestant on season five of the US reality show, Dancing with the Stars; she finished in sixth place, along with her partner, Tony Dovolani. In "One Life to Lose" Jane Seymour guest starred in a soap opera-themed storyline of "Castle (TV series)" the ABC sitcom.

In recent years, Seymour returned to film work, appeared in the Hallmark Channel movie Dear Prudence (2008) with Jamey Sheridan and Ryan Cartwright, and the romantic comedy Love, Wedding, Marriage (2011) with Mandy Moore.

Writing and fashion careers

In the 1980s, Seymour began a career as a writer of self-help and inspirational books, incluing Jane Seymour's Guide to Romantic Living (1986), Two at a Time: Having Twins (2002), Remarkable Changes (2003), and Among Angels (2010). She also co-authored several children's books with her husband James Keach for the This One 'N That One series.

In 2008, Seymour replaced Selina Scott as the new face of the British fashion label CC (formerly known as Country Casuals). Commenting on her own personal fashion preferences, she indicated that CC was only one part of her personal look.

Personal life

Jane Seymour has been married four times. Her first marriage to Michael Attenborough, the son of British film director Richard Attenborough, lasted from 1971 to 1973. Her second marriage to Geoffrey Planer lasted from 1977 to 1978.

In 1981, Seymour married David Flynn. The marriage produced two children, Katherine Flynn, born 7 January 1982 and Sean Flynn, born 1986. Her daughter and stepdaughter, Jenni Flynn, appeared with Seymour in an infomercial for the cosmetics line Natural Advantage by Jane Seymour. In 1984, the couple purchased the Grade One listed St Catherine's Court for £350,000, located in the village of St Catherine, near Bath, Somerset. After spending £3 million on refurbishments, they used the house as their summer home. The couple were divorced in 1992. In 1992, celebrity gossip magazines reported that Seymour dated musician Peter Cetera, former bass guitarist and lead singer of the rock band Chicago.

In 1993, Seymour married her current husband, James Keach. Together they had twins, Johnny Stacy and Kristopher Steven, born 30 November 1995, and named after family friends Johnny Cash and Christopher Reeve. The family began spending most of their time in the United States. In 1996, they began renting St Catherine's Court, at first to English rock group Radiohead, who recorded their album, OK Computer, at the house, and later to the rock group The Cure. Seymour sold the house in November 2007.

Seymour is a celebrity ambassador for Childhelp, a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect. She regularly makes appearances at fundraisers and events for the organization. In 2007, she sponsored a children's Art Pillow contest as part of the Jane Seymour Collection. All the proceeds went to Childhelp.

While on a film shoot in Spain in 1988, Seymour had an allergic reaction to antibiotic medicine that almost killed her. The close call with death profoundly changed her outlook on life. Seymour explained:

Bibliography

• Among Angels. Guideposts, 2010. ISBN-13: 978-0824948504
• Boing!: No Bouncing on the Bed. This One 'N That One series. With James Keach. Putnam Juvenile, 1999. ISBN-13: 978-0399234408
• Gus Loved His Happy Home. With Seymour Fleishman. Linnet Books, 1989. ISBN-13: 978-0208022493
• Jane Seymour's Guide to Romantic Living. Macmillan Publishers, 1986. ASIN: B003JFVAKC.
• Making Yourself at Home: Finding Your Style and Putting It All Together. DK Adult, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-0756628925
• Open Hearts: If Your Heart Is Open, Love Will Always Find Its Way In. Running Press, 2008. ISBN-10: 076243662X
• Remarkable Changes: Turning Life's Challenges into Opportunities. New York: HarperEntertainment, 2003. ISBN-13: 978-0060087470
• Splat!: The Tale of a Colorful Cat. This One 'N That One series. With James Keach. Turtleback Books, 2001. ISBN-13: 978-1417608256
• Two at a Time: Having Twins: The Journey Through Pregnancy and Birth. With Pamela Patrick Novotny. Atria Books, 2002. ISBN-13: 978-0671036782
• Yum!: A Tale of Two Cookies. This One 'N That One series. With James Keach. Angel Gate, 1998. ISBN-13: 978-1932431087

Filmography

Awards

• 1981 Saturn Award for Somewhere in Time (1980)
• 1982 Golden Globe for East of Eden (1981)
• 1988 Emmy Award for Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988)
• 1996 Golden Globe Award for Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman (1993)
• 2000 OBE Officer of the Order of the British Empire
• 2010 Ellis Island Medal of Honor

External links