Joyce Grenfell
| Joyce Grenfell | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Joyce Irene Phipps 10 February 1910 Knightsbridge, London, England |
| Died | 30 November 1979 (aged 69) London, England |
| Occupation | Actress, comedian, satirist, monologist |
| Years active | 1941–1979 |
| Spouse(s) | Reggie Grenfell (m. 1929–1979) (her death) |
Joyce Irene Grenfell, OBE (née Phipps; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was a British comedian, singer, actress and, in her time, one of the country's best loved entertainers, immortalised in roles such as the gym mistress Miss Gossage in The Happiest Days of Your Life and Ruby Gates in the St Trinian's films. She achieved success as a writer and performer of songs and monologues at a time when it was unusual for a woman of her social background to work.
Born in Montpelier Square in Knightsbridge, London, Joyce was the daughter of architect Paul Phipps (1880–1953), the grandson of Charles Paul Phipps and a second cousin of Ruth Draper. Her mother was an American socialite, Nora Langhorne (1889–1955), one of five daughters of Chiswell Langhorne, an American railway millionaire. Nancy Astor, née Nancy Langhorne, was one of her mother's sisters, and had also married in England. Grenfell often visited her at Astor's home of Cliveden and later lived on a cottage on the estate ('Parr's'), a mile from the main house, in the early years of her marriage.
Joyce Phipps had an upper middle class London childhood. She attended the Francis Holland School in Central London, and the Claremont Fan Court School, in Esher, Surrey. She was "finished" in Paris where she attended Mlle Ozanne's finishing school at the age of seventeen.
In 1927, she met Reginald Pascoe Grenfell (1903–1993). They were married two years later at St Margaret's, Westminster. Unable to have children of their own, they remained married for nearly 50 years (until her death).
She made her stage debut in 1939 in the Little Revue. In 1942 she wrote what became her signature song, "I'm Going to See You Today".
During the Second World War, Grenfell toured North Africa, Southern Italy, the Middle East and India with her pianist Viola Tunnard, performing for British troops. In 1989, her wartime journals were published under the title The Time of My Life: Entertaining the Troops. Her singing and comedic talents on stage led to offers to appear in film comedies. Although she performed in a number of films, she continued with her musical recording career, producing a number of humorous albums as well as books.
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