Actress. Born in Llanelly, Wales, the daughter of a Baptist clergyman, she studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began her professional career in 1953. Although she considered herself primarily a stage performer, Roberts made several notable film appearances and won a British Academy Award and a Best Actress Oscar nomination for "This Sporting Life" (1963). Her other films include "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" (1960), "O Lucky Man!" (in which she played three roles, 1973), "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974), "Picnic at Hanging Rock" (1976), "Foul Play" (1978), and "Yanks" (1979). An insecure and emotionally troubled woman, Roberts was married to actor Rex Harrison from 1962 to 1971; devastated over their divorce, she moved to Hollywood in 1975 and tried to forget the relationship. At 53, after a final, futile attempt to win Harrison back, she committed suicide by swallowing poison. She was cremated at the Chapel of the Pines in Los Angeles and the ashes were given to her friend, director Lindsay Anderson. In 1992 Anderson scattered Roberts' ashes on the Thames River in London and filmed the ceremony as part of his autobiographical documentary, "Is That All There Is?" (1994).
Actress. Born in Llanelly, Wales, the daughter of a Baptist clergyman, she studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began her professional career in 1953. Although she considered herself primarily a stage performer, Roberts made several notable film appearances and won a British Academy Award and a Best Actress Oscar nomination for "This Sporting Life" (1963). Her other films include "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" (1960), "O Lucky Man!" (in which she played three roles, 1973), "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974), "Picnic at Hanging Rock" (1976), "Foul Play" (1978), and "Yanks" (1979). An insecure and emotionally troubled woman, Roberts was married to actor Rex Harrison from 1962 to 1971; devastated over their divorce, she moved to Hollywood in 1975 and tried to forget the relationship. At 53, after a final, futile attempt to win Harrison back, she committed suicide by swallowing poison. She was cremated at the Chapel of the Pines in Los Angeles and the ashes were given to her friend, director Lindsay Anderson. In 1992 Anderson scattered Roberts' ashes on the Thames River in London and filmed the ceremony as part of his autobiographical documentary, "Is That All There Is?" (1994).
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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