Virginia McKenna

Virginia Anne McKenna is a Dame of the British Empire, celebrated for her versatile career as a stage and screen actress, author, and outspoken animal‑rights activist. Born on 7 June 1931 in Marylebone, County of London, she grew up in a theatrical family and attended Heron's Ghyll School before training at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Her early professional years saw her at Dundee Repertory Theatre, the Old Vic, and West End productions such as Penny for a Song and The Bad Samaritan, while television appearances with John Gielgud and in Winter's Tale began to raise her public profile. McKenna’s film debut came in 1952 with The Second Mrs Tanqueray, and she quickly earned critical acclaim for roles in A Town Like Alice (1956) – which won her a BAFTA for Best Actress – and Carve Her Name with Pride (1958), where she portrayed SOE heroine Violette Szabo. The pinnacle of her cinematic legacy arrived in 1966 with Born Free, in which she played Joy Adamson alongside husband Bill Travers; the film’s success sparked a lifelong dedication to wildlife conservation, leading to the founding of Zoo Check (later the Born Free Foundation). Beyond the big screen, she earned a Laurence Olivier Award for her performance in The King and I (1979) and continued to act in films such as Swallows and Amazons (1974) and Beauty and the Beast (1976). McKenna has authored several books on animal welfare, released a music album, and remains an active trustee of the Born Free Foundation, recognized with an OBE in 2004 and a DBE in 2023 for her services to wildlife and the arts. Her personal life includes marriages to Denholm Elliott (1954‑1957) and Bill Travers (1957‑1994), with whom she had four children, including conservationist Will Travers, and she is the grandmother of actress Lily Travers.