Virginia McKenna

Beautiful in a hearty, big-sister fashion, British actress Virginia McKennastudied her craft at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art. Two years after her 1950 professional stage debut, McKenna appeared in her first film. While she could breeze through comedy with flair and abandon, McKenna was equally effective with such stark dramatic material as Carve Her Name With Pride (1957) and A Town Like Alice (1958). Once married to actor Denhom Elliot, McKenna wed a second time to Bill McKenna, who became her leading man onscreen as well as off in films like The Smallest Show on Earth (1958) and Ring of Bright Water (1969). Virginia McKenna's most successful film was the pro-ecological Born Free (1966); her experiences while filming this Africa-based drama inspired her to write two volumes of memoirs.