Jean Forbes-Robertson

Jean Forbes-Robertson (16 March 1905 – 24 December 1962) was an English actress born in London to the actors Johnston Forbes-Robertson and Gertrude Elliott. Her aunt was the American actress Maxine Elliott, and her daughter is the actress Joanna Van Gyseghem. She grew up alongside her sisters Maxine (known as Blossom), Chloe, and Diana, spending her early years at her aunt's Hertfordshire home, Hartsbourne Manor in Bushey Heath, where a wing was reserved for the Forbes-Robertson family.

Forbes-Robertson launched her professional career in 1921 in South Africa, appearing in a production of Paddy, the Next Best Thing staged by her mother. She continued touring with her mother's company through Australasia until 1925, when she made her London debut in Dancing Mothers at the Queen's Theatre, performing opposite her mother. Her reputation grew considerably in 1927, when she played Helen Pettigrew in Berkeley Square and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, drawing critical praise for her emotional range. That same year she first took on the title role in Peter Pan, a part she would return to each Christmas season through 1935 and again in 1938–39, both in London and on tour.

Her slim build made her a frequent choice for male and androgynous roles. Among these were Jim Hawkins in a stage adaptation of Treasure Island, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the title character in Peter Pan. She worked regularly with the actor-director Robert Atkins, appearing under his direction in multiple productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park. In 1933 she played Oberon there, in 1936 she appeared as Titania, and in 1937 she took the role of Puck, with The Times describing her interpretation as "a darkly purposeful goblin of mischief lending to Puck's innate attractiveness a rare grace of speech and gesture."

Her classical stage work extended well beyond Shakespeare. In 1928 she appeared at the Old Vic in a season directed by Andrew Leigh that included Hamlet, The School for Scandal, King Lear, in which she played Cordelia, The Merchant of Venice, and Everyman. She played the title role in Hedda Gabler in 1931, and in 1932 she took the dual role of Viola and Cesario in Twelfth Night at the New Theatre, directed by Atkins, as well as appearing in Strange Orchestra by Rodney Ackland at St. Martin's Theatre, directed by John Gielgud. In 1934 she appeared as Marguerite Gautier in The Lady of the Camellias at the Brighton Theatre Royal. In 1936 she performed in Ibsen's Rosmersholm and Hedda Gabler in both Cambridge and London.

That same year Forbes-Robertson made her Broadway appearance, creating the role of Catherine in Promise by H. M. Harwood, which opened on 30 December 1936. Back in London in 1937, she appeared in J. B. Priestley's Time and the Conways at the Duchess Theatre. In 1938 she performed in Twelfth Night and returned once more to A Midsummer Night's Dream at Regent's Park under Atkins's direction.

Forbes-Robertson continued working into the 1940s. In 1945 she appeared in Quality Street at the Embassy Theatre, directed by Anthony Hawtrey, and that same year played Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island at the Granville Theatre. In 1951 she appeared on BBC television in Sunday Night Theatre, playing Birdie Hubbard in a production of The Little Foxes. In 1953 she published two children's stories under the title Chowry and Idle's Islands – Two Tales of Fantasy.

She married Jamie Hamilton in 1929; that marriage ended in 1933. In 1940 she married Andre Van Gyseghem, with whom she had a daughter, Joanna Van Gyseghem. Her sister Maxine became an aviation engineer, her sister Chloe (1909–1947) was an artist, and her sister Diana was an author. Forbes-Robertson died in London on 24 December 1962 at the age of 57.