Fenella Fielding
| Fenella Fielding | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Fenella M. Feldman 17 November 1927 London, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1954–present |
| Relatives | Basil Feldman, Baron Feldman (brother) |
Fenella Fielding (born 17 November 1927) is an English actress, popular in the 1950s and 1960s and known as "England's first lady of the double entendre". She is known for her seductive image and distinctively husky voice. Fielding appeared in two Carry On films, Carry on Regardless (1961) and Carry on Screaming! in 1966.
She was born in 1927 as Fenella M. Feldman in London, of Romanian/Russian Jewish descent, the daughter of Tilly (née Katz; 1902–1977) and Philip Feldman. She is the younger sister of Basil Feldman, Baron Feldman. She grew up in Lower Clapton and later Edgware where she attended North London Collegiate School. Her father at one time owned a cinema in Silvertown, east London. Fielding has stated that, despite reports that she is related to the late comic Marty Feldman, this is not the case ("although I knew him very well").
Fielding began her acting career in 1954, concentrating on stage theatrical productions. She was given her first break by the actor Ron Moody, who had met her in an amateur production at the London School of Economics. Her performance in Sandy Wilson's musical version of Valmouth made her a star in the late 1950s. By 1959 she was appearing with Kenneth Williams in the comedy revue Pieces of Eight, written by Harold Pinter and Peter Cook.
She had occasional guest appearances in television programmes such as The Avengers (after being passed over as Patrick Macnee's regular partner in favour of Honor Blackman) and in Danger Man. She appeared in two of the Carry On films, most famously as the vampirish Valeria in Carry On Screaming! (1966), and three of the Doctor films (including Doctor in Clover). She interspersed these with performances in plays by Ibsen, Shakespeare and Henry James, reputedly keeping an edition of Plato's writings by her bed.
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