Jean Cadell

Jean Dunlop Cadell (13 September 1884 – 29 September 1967) was a Scottish character actress born at 4 Buckingham Terrace in Edinburgh, the daughter of Dr. Francis Cadell (1844–1909), a surgeon, and his wife Mary Hamilton Boileau (1853–1907). During her youth the family relocated to 22 Ainslie Place, a Georgian house on the Moray Estate. Though her married name was Jean Dunlop Perceval-Clark, she retained her maiden name throughout her acting career.

Cadell's Broadway career spanned from 1911 to 1947 and included appearances in Bunty Pulls the Strings, At Mrs. Beam's, Spring Meeting, and The Importance of Being Oscar. Her stage work extended beyond Broadway, and she and her husband, actor Perceval Perceval-Clark, both appeared together in the play The Man Who Stayed at Home.

Her screen career encompassed a substantial body of film work. In 1935 she appeared opposite W.C. Fields in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's production of David Copperfield, playing Mrs. Micawber to his Wilkins Micawber, though her largest scene — depicting the Micawber family's preparations to emigrate — was cut from the released version of the film. She also appeared in Pygmalion (1938), I Know Where I'm Going! (1945), and the Ealing Studios comedy Whisky Galore! (1949). Her television work included a role as the Marquesa of Andalusia in the episode "Prize of Andalusia" (1957) from the series The Buccaneers.

Her brother Francis Cadell was one of the Scottish Colourists. Her son, born John Cadell Perceval-Clark in 1915, later changed his name to John Cadell and became a theatrical agent. Her grandson Simon Cadell and granddaughter Selina Cadell both pursued acting careers. Cadell died in London on 29 September 1967, at the age of 83, and is buried with her family in Dean Cemetery in western Edinburgh, in a grave situated along the cemetery's southern wall.