Jill Esmond: Difference between revisions

| caption = Jill Esmond in 1932

| death_place = [[Wandsworth]], London, England

| spouse = {{marriage|[[Laurence Olivier]]<br>|1930|1940|end=div}}

| yearsactive = 1930–19561924–1956

'''Jill Esmond''' (born '''Jill Esmond Moore'''; (26 January 1908 – 28 July 1990) was an English stage and screen actress. She was the first wife of [[Laurence Olivier]].

Esmond was born in London, the daughter of stage actors [[Henry V. Esmond]] and [[Eva Moore]].<ref name="rp">{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Scott|title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.|date=2016|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476625997|page=229|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&q=%22Jill+Esmond+Moore%22&pg=PA229|access-date=24 February 2018|language=en}}</ref> Dramatist [[W.S. Gilbert]] and actress [[Maxine Elliott]] were her godparents.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Goldberg|first1=Harry|title=English Youth|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17749409/jill_esmond/|work=The Honolulu Advertiser|date=September 22, 1929|location=Hawaii, Honolulu|page=50|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = February 24, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> One of her maternal aunts was [[Decima Moore]].{{Citation needed |date=October 2023}}

While her parents toured with theatre companies, Esmond spent her childhood in [[boarding school]]sschools 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, in Paris, due to [[pneumonia]],<ref>"Death of Mr H. V. Esmond", ''The Times'', 18 April 1922, p. 12</ref> Esmond returned to school and at the time considered abandoning her ambition to act.{{Citation needed |date=May 2023}}

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 of London|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 (play)|Outward Bound]]''.{{Citation needed |date=May 2023}}

[[File:Jill_Esmond_(crop).png|thumb|Jill Esmond in 1930]]

In 1928, Esmond (billed as Jill Esmond Moore) appeared in the production of ''Bird in the Hand'', where she met fellow cast member [[Laurence Olivier]] for the first time. Three weeks later, he proposed to her.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gehman|first1=Richard|title=The Life and Loves of Sir Laurence Olivie: The Man, a Tangled Mass of Contradictions|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17750024/jill_esmond/|work=Philadelphia Daily News|agency=Hearst Headline Service|date=February 9, 1961|location=Pennsylvania, Philadelphia|page=36}}</ref> 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 theatre|Broadway]], Esmond was chosen to join the American production<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=("Jill Esmond" search results)|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/jill-esmond-39727|website=Internet Broadway Database|publisher=The Broadway League|access-date=24 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224195638/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/jill-esmond-39727|archive-date=24 February 2018}}</ref> – but Olivier was not.

Determined to be near Esmond, Olivier travelled to New York City 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;, London.{{sfn|Coleman|2006|p=42}} London. Within weeks, the couple regretted their marriage.{{sfn|Olivier|1994|p=88}} They had one son, Tarquin Olivier (born 21 August 1936).{{sfn|Olivier|1994|p=77}}

Esmond's career continued to ascend while Olivier's own career languished, but after a couple of years, when his career began to show promise, she began to refuse roles.<ref>Cottrell 1975, p. 63.</ref> Esmond had been promised a role by [[David O. Selznick]] in ''[[A Bill of Divorcement (1932 film)|A Bill of Divorcement]]'' (1932) but at only half-salary. Olivier had discovered that [[Katharine Hepburn]] had been offered a much greater salary, and convincedpersuaded Esmond to turn down the role.

In 1937, Esmond playedand togetherOlivier withappeared together Olivier in Shakespeare's ''"Twelfth Night"'' at London's Old Vic theatertheatre.<ref name="apnews.com">{{cite web | url=https://apnews.com/article/c6b496b6a0e4487301b46298585d0be6 | title=Actress Jill Esmond, First Wife of Laurence Olivier, is Dead | website=[[Associated Press]] }}</ref> During this period, their marriage was disintegrating, as Olivier had started a relationrelationship with Vivien Leigh.<ref name="apnews.com"/>

Esmond starred in the Broadway production of [[Emlyn Williams]]' play ''[[The Morning Star (play)|The Morning Star]]'' in 1942,<ref name=":0" /> a production which featured the acting debut of [[Gregory Peck]]. Her acting appearances grew more sporadic with the passage of time, and she made her final film appearance in 1955, around the time she made her two appearances as [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]] in the TV series ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]''.

[[File:Jill Esmond and Laurence Olivier 1932.jpg|left|alt=young woman and man seated at a table with maid standing centre|thumb|Jill Esmond (left) with Olivier, in 1932]]

Esmond withstood the publicity of Olivier's affair with Vivien Leigh and did not seek a divorce. Pressed by Olivier, who was anxious to marry Leigh, she eventually agreed and they were divorced on 29 January 1940.<ref name="beckett">Beckett 2005, p. 30.</ref><ref name="madsen">Madsen 2002, p. 80.</ref> DuringAmong the [[World War II|war years]], she stayed in the United States, wherefilms she appeared mostly in [[character actor]] roles in several films, and her son also was briefly a [[child actor]].{{Citation needed |date=October 2021}} Among the films she appeared are ''[[Journey for Margaret]]'', ''[[The Pied Piper (1942 film)|The Pied Piper]]'' and ''[[Random Harvest (film)|Random Harvest]]'', all in 1942, ''[[My Pal Wolf]]'' (1944), ''[[The White Cliffs of Dover (1944 film)|The White Cliffs of Dover]]'' (1944) and ''[[The Bandit of Sherwood Forest]]'' (1946). In 1946, she returned to the UK where she resumed her acting; her last stage appearance was in 1950, and her last film in 1955;.<ref name="apnews.com"/>

Esmond was 82 years old when she died on 28 July 1990 in [[London Borough of Wandsworth|Wandsworth]], London.<ref>[http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp "Deaths England and Wales 1984–2006."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627024414/http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp |date=27 June 2009 }} findmypast.com. Retrieved 28 January 2015.</ref>

[[Category:LGBTEnglish entertainersLGBTQ from Englandactors]]

[[Category:20th-century LGBTEnglish LGBTQ people]]