Jane Baxter

Jane Baxter was a celebrated actress renowned for her captivating performances on both stage and screen. Winston Churchill, a devoted admirer, once remarked on her elegance, calling her "that charming lady who grace personifies all that is best in British womanhood." Her illustrious career spanned five decades, with her most iconic role in "Dial M For Murder," where she starred alongside Michael Redgrave, who referred to her as “every undergraduate's ideal of an English rose.”

Born Fedora Kathleen Alice Forde in Germany, Jane moved to London in her youth and honed her craft at the Italia Conti Stage School. She debuted in the West End at just 13 in the musical comedy "Love's Prisoner." With encouragement from playwright J.M. Barrie, she adopted the stage name Jane Baxter, and by 1938, she was captivating audiences with her lead role in the hit comedy "A Damsel in Distress."

Baxter continued to shine in several West End productions and films, including "We Live Again" (1934) with Fredric March and "The Clairvoyant" (1935) featuring Claude Rains. In 1935, she joined the Liverpool Playhouse, where her collaboration with Redgrave blossomed into a lasting friendship.

Her notable performances included "George and Margaret," which ran for two years, and a Broadway stint in "The Importance of Being Earnest." Baxter remained active in theater and film until the 1960s, with her final stage performance in "Assault" at the Churchill Theatre in 1978. In 1992, she received a standing ovation at the London Palladium in "A Tribute to Evelyn Laye." In her will, she requested no memorial service, only a simple gathering of friends at her local church in Wimbledon, South London, where film director Bryan Forbes delivered the eulogy.