Jane Seymour (actress) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jane Seymour OBE
Seymour in 2019
Born	Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg (1951-02-15) 15 February 1951 (age 74) Uxbridge, Middlesex, England
Occupation	Actress author
Years active	1968–present
Spouse(s)	Michael Attenborough ​ ​ (m. 1971; div. 1973)​ Geoffrey Planer ​ ​ (m. 1977; div. 1978)​ David Flynn ​ ​ (m. 1981; div. 1992)​ James Keach ​ ​ (m. 1993; div. 2015)​
Children	4
Signature

Seymour (Constanze Mozart) alongside Ian McKellen (Antonio Salieri) in Amadeus, c. 1981

Jane Seymour is a famous British actress. She was born Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg on February 15, 1951. She started acting as a teenager in 1969.

Jane Seymour became well-known for her roles in TV shows and movies. She played a psychic Bond girl named Solitaire in the James Bond film Live and Let Die in 1973. She also starred in the TV series The Onedin Line.

She has won many awards for her acting. These include a Golden Globe Award for her role in the miniseries East of Eden (1981). She also won an Emmy Award for playing Maria Callas in Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988).

One of her most famous roles was Dr. Michaela Quinn in the TV series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. This show was about a female doctor in the Wild West. She won another Golden Globe Award for this role.

Jane Seymour has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2000, she was given an award called the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her work in acting.

Besides acting, Jane Seymour has written books and designed jewelry. She also started a charity called the Open Hearts Foundation.

Early Life and Background

Jane Seymour was born in Uxbridge, England. Her mother, Mieke van Tricht, was a nurse from the Netherlands. Her father, Benjamin John Frankenberg, was a doctor. Her father was Jewish, and his family came from Poland. Her mother was Dutch and was a prisoner during World War II.

Jane learned to speak Dutch from her mother and her mother's friends. She also learned to speak fluent French. She went to Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. She chose the stage name Jane Seymour after an English queen.

An interesting fact about Jane Seymour is that she has different colored eyes. Her right eye is brown, and her left eye is green. This is called heterochromia.

Acting Career Highlights

Jane Seymour's acting career began in 1969 with a small part in the film Oh! What a Lovely War. In 1970, she had a bigger role in the movie The Only Way, where she played a Jewish woman hiding from the Nazis.

Early TV and Film Roles

In 1973, she became well-known on TV as Emma Callon in The Onedin Line. That same year, she became internationally famous as Solitaire, a Bond girl, in Live and Let Die.

She also appeared in fantasy films like Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) and the science fiction series Battlestar Galactica (1978). She starred with Chevy Chase in the comedy Oh Heavenly Dog.

Stage and Movie Success

In 1980, Jane Seymour performed on stage in the play Amadeus. She played Constanze, the wife of Mozart. The play was very successful on Broadway.

She also starred in the romantic film Somewhere in Time (1980). This movie became a favorite for many fans. In 1981, she won a Golden Globe for her role in the TV miniseries East of Eden. She also appeared in The Scarlet Pimpernel in 1982.

In 1988, she played Natalie Henry in the TV miniseries War and Remembrance, a story about World War II. She won an Emmy Award that year for playing Maria Callas in the TV movie Onassis: The Richest Man in the World.

In 1989, she played the French queen Marie Antoinette in the film La Révolution française. Her own children even appeared as the queen's children in the movie.

Seymour at the Emmy Awards, 1994

Dr. Quinn and Beyond

The 1990s brought Jane Seymour huge popularity with her role as Dr. Michaela Quinn in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. This medical drama was set in the American Wild West. She won another Golden Globe Award for this role. While working on the show, she met her fourth husband, actor-director James Keach.

In the 2000s, Jane continued to act mostly in television. She made guest appearances in shows like Smallville and How I Met Your Mother. In 2005, she returned to the big screen in the comedy movie Wedding Crashers.

She also competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2007. More recently, she has appeared in films like Love, Wedding, Marriage (2011) and Little Italy (2018).

In 2020, Jane starred in Ruby's Choice, an Australian film about a woman with early dementia. She won an award for Best Actress for this role. The film was released in Australia and New Zealand in 2022 and in North America in 2024.

In March 2024, Jane Seymour appeared in the Netflix movie Irish Wish, which quickly became a top-watched film on the platform. She also began hosting a new TV series called Relative Secrets in 2025.

Personal Life

Jane Seymour at the 82nd Academy Awards in 2010

Jane Seymour has been married four times. She has four children. Her first two marriages were to Michael Attenborough and Geoffrey Planer.

In 1981, she married David Flynn and they had two children, Katherine and Sean. They divorced in 1992. The next year, she married actor James Keach. They had twin sons, John Stacy and Kristopher Steven, born in 1995. They divorced in 2015.

In 2005, Jane Seymour became a citizen of the United States.

She is a special ambassador for Childhelp, a charity that helps children who have been abused or neglected. She supports their work by helping with events and projects.

Since 2023, she has been in a relationship with musician John Zambetti.

Writing and Design Work

Besides acting, Jane Seymour is also a writer. She has written self-help books like Jane Seymour's Guide to Romantic Living (1986) and Remarkable Changes (2003). She also co-wrote children's books with her former husband, James Keach.

In 2008, Jane Seymour started designing a jewelry line called the "Open Heart Collection" for Kay Jewelers. The idea behind the collection is to "Keep your heart open and love will always find its way in." She often wears one of these necklaces when she is seen in public. She also wrote books related to this theme, such as Open Hearts: If Your Heart Is Open, Love Will Always Find Its Way In.

A special blue diamond ring was even named "The Jane Seymour" in her honor in 2016.

Filmography

Awards and Honours

Jane Seymour has received many awards and honors throughout her career.

Awards

Honours

• 1999: She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California.
• 2000: She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her services to acting.
• 2010: She received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which recognizes Americans who have made significant contributions to their country.

See also

In Spanish: Jane Seymour (actriz) para niños

• List of British actors
• List of Primetime Emmy Award winners
• List of Golden Globe winners