Jill Esmond
| Jill Esmond | |
|---|---|
Jill Esmond 1932
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| Born |
Jill Esmond Moore 26 January 1908 London, England, UK |
| Died | 28 July 1990 (aged 82) Wandsworth, London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1930–1956 |
| Spouse(s) | Laurence Olivier (1930–1940) (divorced) 1 child |
| Children | Tarquin Olivier (b. 1936) |
Jill Esmond (26 January 1908 – 28 July 1990) was an English stage and screen actress. She was the first wife of Laurence Olivier.
Esmond was born Jill Esmond Moore in London, the daughter of stage actors Henry V. Esmond and Eva Moore. While her parents toured with theatre companies, Esmond spent her childhood in boarding schools until she decided at the age of 14 to become an actress. She made her stage debut playing Wendy to Gladys Cooper's Peter Pan, but her success was short-lived. When her father died suddenly in 1922, Esmond returned to school and at the time considered abandoning her ambition to act.
After reassessing her future and coming to terms with her father's death, she studied with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and returned to the West End stage in 1924. In 1925, she starred with her mother in a play Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, and after a few more successful roles, won critical praise for her part as a young suicide in Outward Bound.
In 1928 Esmond appeared in the production of Bird in the Hand, where she met fellow cast member Laurence Olivier for the first time. In his autobiography Olivier later wrote that he was smitten with Esmond, and that her cool indifference to him did nothing but further his ardour. When Bird in the Hand was being staged on Broadway, Esmond was chosen to join the American production – but Olivier was not.
Determined to be near Esmond, Olivier travelled to New York where he found work as an actor. Esmond won rave reviews for her performance. Olivier continued to follow Esmond, and after proposing to her several times, she agreed and the couple were married on 25 July 1930 at All Saints', Margaret Street; within weeks, the couple regretted their marriage. They had one son, Tarquin Olivier (born 21 August 1936).
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