Jane Seymour   [1951]

Jane Seymour was, and still is, an accomplished and well known Dutch American actress who was born in England. She did most of her acting in the United States, and became an American citizen on February 11, 2005. She was born as Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg. Her parents were John Frankenberg, a physician of Polish and German origin. Her mother was Mieke Frankenberg, Dutch born and living in England at the time of Jane Seymour’s birth.

Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg took the stage name Jane Seymour at the age of 17, when she clearly already had her eyes set on an acting career. Jane Seymour was also the name of King Henry VIII’s third wife, and presumably that is where Joyce, later known as Jane, got the idea to adopt the Jane Seymour name.

At the time this bio was written, 2009, Jane had already been acting for 40 years. Her first acting role was in 1969, with a role for which she received no credit, in Richard Attenborough’s film version of “Oh! What a Lovely War”. During the 40 years of her acting career she has appeared in nearly 90 screen and television productions. The longest of the productions took place during the 1993 to 1998 period, when she appeared as Dr. Quinn in the television series, “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”. She appeared as Dr. Quinn in 145 episodes of the television series.

Other notable productions Jane Seymour was involved in were, “East of Eden”, a miniseries, in 1981, “The Scarlet Pimpernel” in 1982, “The Phantom of the Opera” in 1983, “The Sun Also Rises”, in 1984 and “Onassis: Richest Man in the World”, in 1988. In the Onassis production she played the role of Maria Callas. In 1988, she played a role in “Jack the Ripper”, and in “War and Remembrance”, a television series consisting of 12 episodes. In 1995, she played Dr. Quinn in the movie “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”, and in 1998 she played a role in “Quest for Camelot”. Please accept my apologies for the many other notable performances she has been involved in that were omitted from the above listing.

During her professional acting career, Seymour received four major accolades. In 1998, she received an Emmy Award for her acting in “Onassis: The Richest Man in the World”. In 1996, the Golden Globe was awarded to her for the role she played in the television series, “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”. In that same year she also was awarded the Family film Award for the same television series, “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”. And in the year 2000, Queen Elizabeth II awarded her the prestigious British national award, the “OBE—Officer of the British Empire”.

Jane Seymour has been nearly as active in her personal life as in her professional life as an actress. She has been married five times. Her first marriage was to Michael Attenborough, the son of Richard Attenborough, from 1971 to 1973. Her second marriage was to Geoffrey Planer, which lasted from 1977 to 1978. Her third marriage, to Christopher Demetriou, was just as short as her second marriage. It lasted from 1979 to 1980. Her fourth marriage, to David Flynn, was her first longer marriage. It lasted from 1981 to 1992. And her fifth and last marriage, to James Keach, appears to be her last and lasting one. It has lasted from 1993 to the present.

Jane Seymour had four children. With David Flynn she had a daughter Katherine, born in 1982, and a son, Sean born in 1986. Her two youngest children, twins, were born in 1995 while she was married to her current husband David Keach. The twins are boys named Johnny and Kris.

Jane Seymour is currently a celebrity ambassador for the non-profit organization “Childhelp”, an organization for the prevention and treatment of child abuse. In 2008, she was also honored by the Christopher and Dana Reeve foundation for her work with people with disabilities.

 

 REFERENCES

Jane Seymour (actress), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Seymour_(actress)

 

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PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICANS, CURRENT AND HISTORIC

EIGHT PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICAN FAMILIES: THE ROOSEVELTS, VANDERBILTS AND OTHERS, 2015

FIFTEEN PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICAN FAMILIES: THE VAN BURENS, KOCH BROTHERS, VOORHEES AND OTHERS, 2015

PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICANS IN U.S. GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, 2015

 

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FRENCH REVOLUTION, NAPOLEON AND RUSSIAN WAR OF 1812, 2015