Distinguished Devon-born British actress, renowned for her captivating performances on the classical stage, whose illustrious career spanned over five decades. Born and raised in Devon, she embarked on her acting journey by training at the esteemed Hartly-Hodder School of Speech and Drama, graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1949.
Following her professional acting debut that same year, she spent a year honing her craft on the repertory stage before joining the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. Her impressive repertoire included iconic roles such as Calpurnia in "Julius Caesar", Desdemona in "Othello" (opposite Anthony Quayle),and Kate in "The Taming of the Shrew" (opposite Keith Michell as Petruchio).
In 1956, Jefford transitioned to the Old Vic, where she showcased her remarkable range in a one-woman show entitled "Heroines of Shakespeare". Throughout her extensive theatrical career, she relished the opportunity to portray a diverse array of complex characters, from Cleopatra and Joan of Arc to Hedda Gabler and Gwendolen Fairfax.
In 1965, she became the youngest recipient of an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to the theatre at the age of 35. As late as 2002, she appeared as Queen Margaret opposite Kenneth Branagh in Richard III at the Crucible in Sheffield, earning a glowing review from The Guardian, which hailed her as "one of the greatest of Shakespearean actors" who brought "Grecian grandeur" to her role.
Although she did make some early appearances on television, Jefford's film career did not reach the same heights, only taking off when she was in her mid-thirties. Her film roles tended to be in off-beat characters, including a vampiric countess in Hammer's Lust for a Vampire (1971),Magda Goebbels in Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973),the coldly self-righteous Mrs. Herriton in Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991),and an eccentric, wheelchair-bound German baroness in Roman Polanski's thriller The Ninth Gate (1999).
For the small screen, Jefford guest-starred in episodes of The House of Eliott (1991),Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1987),and Midsomer Murders (1997). Between 1950 and 2003, she also lent her voice to numerous BBC radio adaptations of classic plays.
