Biography
Virginia McKenna is a British stage and screen actress. Born on 7 June 1931 in London, she trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and began her career with the Dundee Repertory Theatre.
She is known for her roles in The Cruel Sea (1953), A Town Like Alice (1956), for which she won a BAFTA, Carve Her Name with Pride (1958), Born Free (1966), Ring of Bright Water (1969) and Waterloo (1970). She also appeared as James' Mother in Sliding Doors (1998) and provided a voice in Ethel & Ernest (2016).
McKenna has worked extensively in theatre, winning a Laurence Olivier Award for The King and I (1979). With her husband, actor Bill Travers, she co-founded the Born Free Foundation and has been recognised with an OBE and later a DBE for services to wildlife conservation and the arts.
