Penelope Dudley Ward
Encyclopedia
Penelope Ann Rachel, Lady Reed (4 August 1914 – 22 January 1982), known as Penelope Dudley-Ward, was an English actress.
Born Penelope Anne Rachel Dudley Ward in London
, she was the elder daughter of The Right Honourable
William Dudley Ward and the leading socialite
Freda Dudley Ward
, most well-known for being the long-time mistress of the Prince of Wales
, the future King Edward VIII
. She was a leading lady in several British films during the 1930s and 1940s. She announced her retirement from the screen following her second marriage.
She was twice married. Her first marriage, to Anthony Pelissier
, lasted from 29 December 1939, until their divorce in 1944. Their daughter, Tracy Reed was born 21 September 1942. Dudley-Ward married Sir Carol Reed
on 24 January 1948. They had one son, Max Reed, born 14 September 1948. Dudley-Ward and Reed remained married until Reed's death in 1976.
She died from a brain tumor
in January 1982 at the age of 67.
Born Penelope Anne Rachel Dudley Ward in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, she was the elder daughter of The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
William Dudley Ward and the leading socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
Freda Dudley Ward
Freda Dudley Ward
Winifred May, Marquesa de Casa Maury , universally known by her first married name as Freda Dudley Ward, was an English socialite best known for being a mistress of the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VIII.-Life:Born Winifred May Birkin, she was the second child and eldest of three...
, most well-known for being the long-time mistress of the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, the future King Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
. She was a leading lady in several British films during the 1930s and 1940s. She announced her retirement from the screen following her second marriage.
She was twice married. Her first marriage, to Anthony Pelissier
Anthony Pelissier
Harry Anthony Compton Pelissier was an English actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Biography:Pelissier was born in Barnet and came from a theatrical family. His parents were the theatre producer H. G. Pelissier and the distinguished actress Fay Compton...
, lasted from 29 December 1939, until their divorce in 1944. Their daughter, Tracy Reed was born 21 September 1942. Dudley-Ward married Sir Carol Reed
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out , The Fallen Idol , The Third Man and Oliver!...
on 24 January 1948. They had one son, Max Reed, born 14 September 1948. Dudley-Ward and Reed remained married until Reed's death in 1976.
She died from a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
in January 1982 at the age of 67.
Selected filmography
- Moscow NightsMoscow Nights (film)Moscow Nights is a 1935 British drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Laurence Olivier, Penelope Dudley-Ward and Harry Baur. During the First World War a wounded Russian officer Captain Ignatoff falls in love with his nurse...
(1935) - The CitadelThe Citadel (film)The Citadel is a 1938 film based on the novel of the same name by A. J. Cronin, first published in 1937. The film was directed by King Vidor and produced by Victor Saville.-Plot:...
(1938) - Toppy LeRoy - Major Barbara (1941) - Sarah Undershaft
- In Which We ServeIn Which We ServeIn Which We Serve is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by David Lean and Noël Coward. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information ....
(1942) - The Demi-ParadiseThe Demi-ParadiseThe Demi-Paradise is a 1943 comedy film made by Two Cities Films and distributed in the U.S. by Universal Pictures. It starred Laurence Olivier as a Soviet inventor who travels to England to have his revolutionary propeller manufactured, and Penelope Dudley Ward as the woman who falls in love with...
(1943) - English Without TearsEnglish Without TearsEnglish Without Tears is a 1944 British Comedy film directed by Harold French and starring Michael Wilding, Penelope Dudley-Ward and Lilli Palmer. The niece of a British aristocrat falls in love with the butler.-Cast:* Michael Wilding ... Tom Gilbey...
(1944) - Joan Heseltine - The Way AheadThe Way AheadThe Way Ahead is a British Second World War drama released in 1944. It stars David Niven and Stanley Holloway and follows a group of civilians who are conscripted into the British Army to fight in North Africa. In the U.S., an edited version was released as The Immortal Battalion.The film was...
(1944) - Mrs Perry