Jane Asher Biography

(Actress and Author Known for Her Films: ‘Deep End’, ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ and ‘Alfie’)

Birthday: April 5, 1946 (Aries)

Born In: Willesden, London, England

Jane Asher is a British actor, entrepreneur, and author, who earned popularity early in life as a child prodigy. She has worked in numerous movies and TV series throughout her career, with movies like ‘Deep End,’ ‘Alfie,’ and ‘The Mask of the Red Death’ to her credit. Besides being an actor, Asher also owns two companies. One designs cakes for special occasions and the other deals in kitchenware. She is the author of three bestselling books and has published more than a dozen books on recipes and lifestyle. Asher has also received considerable attention from the media and the public, owing to the fact that she was once the girlfriend and a muse of Paul McCartney of ‘The Beatles’ fame.
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Quick Facts

British Celebrities Born In April

Age: 77 Years, 77 Year Old Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Gerald Scarfe (m. 1981)

father: Richard Asher

mother: Margaret Eliot

children: Alexander Scarfe, Katie Scarfe, Rory Scarfe

Actresses British Women

Height: 5'6" (168 cm), 5'6" Females

Notable Alumni: Queen's College, Queen's College, London

More Facts

education: Queen's College, London, Queen's College

Childhood & Early Life
Jane Asher was born on April 5, 1946, in Willesden, Middlesex, North West London. She was the middle child of the three children born to Margaret and Dr. Richard Alan John Asher.
Margaret Asher was a professor of oboe at the ‘Guildhall School of Music and Drama,’ and she taught Paul McCartney to play the recorder. Richard Asher, a consultant in blood and mental illnesses at the ‘Central Middlesex Hospital,’ was also a broadcaster. He is known for having published numerous medical articles.
Jane Asher’s younger sister, Clare Asher, is a school inspector and radio actor. Their elder brother, Peter Asher, is a record producer and manager.
Asher attended ‘Queen’s College’ in Harley Street, London.
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Career
Jane Asher started her career as a child actor. Between 1952 and 1958, she worked in movies such as ‘Mandy’ and ‘The Quatermass Xperiment,’ the former being her debut film. She first appeared on stage at the age of 12, with ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ and later also acted in ‘Through the Looking Glass.’
During the period between 1952 and 1958, she also made appearances in the British TV series ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ and on the ‘BBC’ show ‘Juke Box Jury.’ In the following years, she acted in the movie ‘The Greengage Summer’(1961), released in the US as ‘Loss of Innocence,’ and in the popular ‘Disney TV’ program and film ‘The Prince and the Pauper’ (1962).
Between 1964 and 1984, Asher worked in some of the most important movies of her career, namely, ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ (1964), ‘Alfie’ (1966), ‘The Winter’s Tale’ (1967), ‘Deep End’ (1970), ‘Henry VIII and His Six Wives’ (1972), ‘Runners’ (1983), and ‘Success is the Best Revenge’ (1984).
Through the 1980s and the 1990s, Jane Asher made guest appearances in a huge number of TV programs, such as ‘The Goodies,’ ‘Wicked Women,’ ‘The Stone Step,’ ‘Rumpole of the Bailey,’ ‘Brideshead Revisited,’ ‘A Voyage Round My Father,’ and ‘Wish Me Luck.’
Asher also briefly experimented as a radio actor, playing ‘Susan Foremen’ in the ‘BBC Radio 4’ comedy ‘Whatever Happened to Susan Foreman?’ (1994). In 2002, she was seen in an episode of another popular radio program, ‘The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.’
Asher simultaneously worked in films, TV series, and the theater through the 2000s. In 2003, she starred in the ‘ITV’ series ‘Crossroads,’ playing the character ‘Angel Samson.’ She was also seen in Richard Fell’s adaptation of the science-fiction series ‘A for Andromeda’ (2006), the ‘BBC’ medical drama ‘Holby City’(2007), ‘ITV’ drama series ‘The Palace’ (2008), ‘Maestro’ (2008), ‘The Old Guys’ (2010), and other shows.
One of her noteworthy films of the 2000s was Frank Oz’s ‘Death at a Funeral.’
She was most notably involved in theater during the 2000s, having worked in plays such as ‘Festen’ (2004) at the ‘Arts Theatre,’ ‘The World’s Biggest Diamond’ (2005) at the ‘Royal Court Theatre,’ ‘Bedroom Farce’ (2009) at the ‘Rose Theatre,’ ‘The Importance of Being Earnest (2011) at the ‘Rose Theatre,’ and others. Her first pantomime, ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,’ was staged in 2009 at the ‘Richmond Theatre.’
In 2013, she played the character of ‘Catherine de Bourgh’ in a stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ at the ‘Open Air Theatre.’ In 2016, she appeared as ‘Miss Havisham’ in Michael Eaton’s adaptation of Dickens’s ‘Great Expectations.’
Jane Asher wrote three bestselling novels, namely, ‘The Longing’, ‘The Question,’ and ‘Losing It’. Apart from these, she has more than a dozen other published books on cake decoration, lifestyle, and other such topics. Asher owns a brand of kitchenware and has a company that designs cakes for special occasions.
Major Works
‘Mandy,’ ‘The Greengage Summer,’ and ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ are some of Asher’s best-known movies.
Awards & Achievements
In 1961, Jane Asher became the youngest actor ever to be cast in the role of ‘Wendy’ in a ‘West End’ stage adaptation of ‘Peter Pan.’
She was nominated for the ‘BAFTA’ for the ‘Best Actress’ for ‘A Voyage Round My Father’ in 1983 and the ‘BAFTA’ for the ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for ‘Deep End’ in 1972.
Family & Personal Life
Jane Asher was in a 5-year relationship with Paul Mccartney, from 1963 to 1968. McCartney wrote several songs inspired by her, such as ‘You Won’t See Me,’ ‘And I Love Her,’ and ‘We Can Work It Out.’ Asher broke up with McCartney when she caught him cheating on her with Francie Schwartz.
In 1971, Asher met Gerald Scarfe, an illustrator. The couple had a daughter, Katie, in 1974, and 7 years later, in 1981, they walked the aisle. Their son Alexander was born in the same year. Their youngest child, Rory, was born in 1983. The family settled in Chelsea.
Trivia
Jane Asher has made active efforts to raise awareness about autism. In 2010, she became the vice president of ‘Autistica,’ a charity that raises funds for research on autism. She is a patron of ‘TRACKS autism,’ a nursery setting for autistic children, and also the president of the ‘National Autistic Society.’

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