Renée Asherson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Renée Asherson
Born	Dorothy Renée Ascherson (1915-05-19)19 May 1915 Kensington, London, England
Died	30 October 2014(2014-10-30) (aged 99) Primrose Hill, London, England
Years active	1939–2001
Spouse(s)	Robert Donat ​ ​ (m. 1953; died 1958)​

Dorothy Renée Ascherson (born May 19, 1915 – died October 30, 2014) was a famous English actress. She was known professionally as Renée Asherson. Renée spent much of her acting career performing in plays by William Shakespeare. She appeared in many famous theatres like the Old Vic in London. Her first time on stage was in 1935 when she was 20 years old. She also acted in movies, with her first big film role in The Way Ahead (1944). Her last movie was The Others in 2001.

Early life and training

Renée Asherson was born in Kensington, London. She was the younger daughter of Charles Stephen Ascherson, who owned ships. Renée grew up in Gerrards Cross, a town in England. She also spent time living in Switzerland and France. Later, she went to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art to train as an actress.

Acting career highlights

Renée Asherson had a long and successful career in acting. She performed in many plays, movies, and TV shows.

Theatre performances

Renée first appeared on stage on October 17, 1935. She had a small role in a play called Romeo and Juliet. Famous actors John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier were also in that play. From 1937 to 1938, Renée was part of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre company.

She first acted at The Old Vic theatre in 1940 in a play called The Tempest. Renée toured with the Old Vic company for two years. She played different characters in plays like She Stoops to Conquer and Twelfth Night.

Renée also performed at the Westminster Theatre. She received great reviews for her role in The Cure for Love in 1945. She acted alongside Robert Donat in this play. Laurence Olivier wanted her to join his theatre company, but Renée chose to keep working with Donat. At the Aldwych Theatre, she played Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing in 1947. She also played Stella in the first London show of A Streetcar Named Desire in 1949.

Film roles

One of Renée Asherson's early main movie roles was as Princess Katherine in Laurence Olivier's film Henry V. This movie was based on William Shakespeare's famous play.

Renée and Robert Donat also acted together in the movie The Cure for Love (1949). Donat directed this film, and it was his only time directing a movie. They fell in love while making it. They appeared together in other films too, like The Magic Box (1951). In 1945, she was in The Way to the Stars as Iris Winterton.

Her last movie role was in the spooky thriller The Others. She played an old woman in a haunted house.

Television appearances

Renée Asherson also had many roles on television. In 1976, she played Miss Gailey in a TV show called "Clayhanger". In 1978, she was Mother Ancilla in an episode of Armchair Thriller. She also appeared in the TV miniseries A Man Called Intrepid in 1979.

From 1981, Renée played Sylvia Ashburton in the first season of the TV series Tenko. She was also the first character to die in the popular TV series Midsomer Murders. She played Emily Simpson in the first episode, "The Killings at Badger’s Drift," in 1997.

Personal life

In 1953, Renée Asherson married fellow actor Robert Donat. They separated before he passed away five years later. Renée never married again. She died in Primrose Hill, London, on October 30, 2014. She was 99 years old. Her nephew, the journalist Neal Ascherson, is among her surviving family members.

Filmography