Esther Anderson (Jamaican actress)
| Esther Anderson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
August 4, 1946 Highgate, Jamaica |
| Occupation | Actress, writer, photographer, documentary filmmaker |
| Years active | 1960–present |
Esther Anderson (born August 4, 1946) is a Jamaican filmmaker, photographer and actress, sometimes listed in credits as Ester Anderson.
Anderson was born in the parish of St. Mary on the north coast of Jamaica. Her father Randolph Anderson was an architect and planter. Her mother, Ivy Mae Mahon, belonged to a well-established Indian community in St Mary. She studied at Highgate High School and at the Quaker Finishing School, where she joined the St. John Ambulance Brigade. At the age of 14, she moved to Kingston to live with her paternal grandmother at the family home in Half Way Tree.
Organisers of a 1960 Miss Jamaica beauty contest invited her to participate as "Miss Four Aces". At this time she met Hugh Foot Captain General and Governor in Chief of Jamaica, his aide-de-camp Chris Blackwell, the then Prime Minister Norman Manley and Jamaica's first Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante. The jury awarded her the first prize, but changed it to third prize while Anderson was still on stage after realizing she was underage. Anderson's father was angry she had entered the contest. This and the excessive public attention following the contest led Anderson to use the prize proceeds to travel to England.
In July 1961, Esther Anderson arrived in London where she began modeling for the artist Aubrix Rix, an illustrator for Woman's Own magazine whom she had met in Kingston with Dr Ken McNeill. She studied drama at the Actor's Workshop in London. She combined her studies with a modeling career, doing photo shoots and commercials for Africa and Asia. She was tested and won the contract for a series of commercials as the dancing girl advertising Kent's Doncella Cigars. She was offered a role in a documentary film by Jo Menell, who was a producer journalist for the television programme Panorama. The film was directed by Riccardo Aragno. They filmed part of the scenes at the Crazy Elephant club where she worked as a DJ at nights. As a dancer, she had trained with Trinidadian Boscoe Holder, brother of Geoffrey Holder, while going to drama school. Anderson and her sister Thelma (later Tiffany Anderson) auditioned for the producer Elkan Allan and director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, and they teamed up as dancers and choreographers for Ready Steady Go!, the number-one pop show on British television at the time. They appeared as the Anderson Sisters, with The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Walker Brothers, Sonny and Cher, Cathy McGowan and Donovan. Esther Anderson was offered a part in a film that Marty Ransohoff was making in Europe called The Sandpiper.
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