Ursula Jeans, a renowned British actress with a lengthy and illustrious career on the London stage, was born Ursula Jean McMinn in India. Following her schooling in London, she trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Jeans made her theatrical debut at the Criterion Theatre in 1922, marking the beginning of a remarkable journey in the world of theatre.
Throughout the 1930s, Jeans specialized in classical plays by William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw, primarily performing at the Old Vic and with the Sadler's Wells Company. Her exceptional talent and dedication earned her a reputation as a leading lady of the London stage.
During World War II, Jeans worked under the auspices of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA),alongside her second husband, the accomplished actor Roger Livesey. The couple frequently appeared together on stage and enjoyed a highly successful run on the West End in a play written specifically for them by J.B. Priestley, titled "Ever Since Paradise".
In the late 1950s, the Liveseys embarked on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, performing in the play "The Reluctant Debutante". Prior to this, they had appeared together on screen in both the stage and film versions of "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" (1943).
On screen, Jeans' relatively few film roles often cast her as a refined, devoted wife, as seen in her portrayal of Mrs. Molly Wallis in "The Dam Busters" (1955). However, she was more effective in her roles as Lady Windham in "North West Frontier" (1959) and Martha Dacre, a middle-class widow grappling with the aftermath of war, in "The Weaker Sex" (1948).
