Jean Forbes-Robertson

Jean Forbes-Robertson (16 March 1905 – 24 December 1962) was an English actress. A versatile Shakespearean actress, she was often cast in boys' roles because of her slim build, playing Jim Hawkins in a stage version of Treasure Island, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream and, most famously, the title role in Peter Pan.

After beginning her career in 1921 on tour in South Africa and Australasia with her mother's theatre company, she made her London debut in 1925, gaining wide notice by 1927. During her career, she played mostly in Shakespeare works and other classic plays, and was often employed by the actor-director Robert Atkins. Her father was the actor Johnston Forbes-Robertson, her aunt was the actress Maxine Elliott, and her daughter is the actress Joanna Van Gyseghem.

Forbes-Robertson was born in London, the second daughter of the actors Johnston Forbes-Robertson and Gertrude Elliott. She spent her early years with her parents, sisters and aunt Maxine at her aunt's Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire home, Hartsbourne Manor, where a wing was used exclusively by the Forbes-Robertsons.

Forbes-Robertson began her professional stage career in South Africa in 1921 in a production of Paddy, the Next Best Thing produced by her mother. She toured in Australasia in her mother's company until 1925, when she appeared in London in Dancing Mothers opposite her mother at the Queen's Theatre. She gained wider notice in 1927 as Helen Pettigrew in Berkeley Square and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, impressing the critics with her emotional range. That year, she first played the title character in Peter Pan, a role that she would repeat annually during the Christmas season until 1935 and in 1938–39 in London, and also on tour, gaining wide renown for her portrayal.

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