Biography
Jenny Laird (born Phyllis Edith Mary Blythe) was a British stage, film and television actress. She was born on 13 February 1912 in Chorlton, Manchester, and died on 31 October 2001 in London. Educated at Maidstone Grammar School and London University, she worked briefly as an advertising copywriter before training as an actor and making her repertory debut in 1937 in A Bill of Divorcement.
Her film credits include Sister Honey in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's Black Narcissus (1947), a role in Village of the Damned (1960), and appearances in Ealing productions such as Painted Boats (1945). On television she appeared in series including Doctor Who (1974), Inspector Morse (1991), All Creatures Great and Small (1988) and Hammer House of Horror (1980). She also performed extensively in the theatre, including West End productions and classical revivals.
In 1947 she married theatre director John Fernald, with whom she collaborated on writing plays, including the West End comedy And No Birds Sing. They had one daughter, Karen.
