The Redgraves
The Barrymores, the Fondas, the Cusacks…just some examples of talented families representing generations of talent show business. Another name on that list would be the Redgrave family. Beginning with the family patriarch, Sir Michael Redgrave and his wife Rachel Kempson (also known as Lady Redgrave), their children are even more famous. Vanessa Redgrave and her daughters Natasha and Joely Richardson are all accomplished actors as well as her sister Lynn Redgrave, and brother Corin. Corin Redgrave’s daughter Jemma Redgrave, and Joely’s daughter, Daisy Bevan are continuing the tradition. Did you know that in addition to being an incredibly talented family, the second and third generations of the Redgraves all have connections to the Walt Disney Studios?
Vanessa Redgrave, the eldest child of Michael and Rachel, provided the voices of Mama Topolino and the Queen Car in Cars 2 (2011). She also starred in the Touchstone Pictures film Cradle Will Rock (1999). Vanessa was first married to director, Tony Richardson, who directed both his mother-in-law, Lady Redgrave and sister-in-law, Lynn Redgrave, in the film Tom Jones (1963). She had two daughters with Richardson, Natasha and Joely. After divorcing Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave appeared opposite Franco Nero in the movie-musical Camelot (1967), based on the Broadway musical of the same name, with Redgrave as Lady Guinevere and Nero as Sir Lancelot. They began a long-term relationship which produced a son, Carlo Gabriel Nero, who later directed them in film Uninvited (1999). They officially became husband and wife on New Year’s Eve of 2006. (Nero, also was the voice of Uncle Topolino in “Cars 2.”) To this day, Vanessa Redgrave is the only British actress ever to win an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Tony, and a Screen Actor’s Guild. Most recently, Nero and Redgrave reunited together on-screen, opposite Amanda Seyfried in Letters to Juliet (2010).
Lynn Redgrave was the youngest child of the Redgrave family. She made a guest star appearance as herself in the third season of The Muppet Show (1976-1981). She also starred opposite Kirstie Alley in the made-for-television film Toothless (1997). Like her sister, Lynn Redgrave received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, but disappointingly never won. In 1993, she also received a Tony Nomination for the one-woman play “Shakespeare for My Father,” based on her relationship with her father. While she was never the voice of any Disney cartoon, she did lend her voice to the Nickelodeon series, The Wild Thornberrys (1998-2004) as the voice of Cordelia Thornberry, who is the mother of Nigel Thornberry, the family’s patriarch (voiced by Tim Curry). She reprised that role for The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002).
Interestingly, Vanessa’s daughters from her first marriage, Joely and the late Natasha Richardson, both starred in remakes of classic Disney films. Joely played Anita Dearly in 101 Dalmatians and Natasha played Elizabeth James, the mother of the twins in The Parent Trap (1998). After making “The Parent Trap,” Natasha went on to star in the leading role of Fraulein Sally Bowles in the 1998 Broadway revival of Cabaret opposite Alan Cumming as the Master of Ceremonies. She and Cumming both won Tonys for their performances. (Ironically, Natasha won her Tony before her mother, Vanessa won her Tony for her performance in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night in 2003.) Joely, also appeared under the direction of Bonnie Hunt in Return to Me (2000) and starred in the series Nip/Tuck (2003-2010) which earned her two Golden Globe Nominations. Joely’s daughter Daisy Bevan has acted in film and television, including Elizabeth (1998) with Cate Blanchett, which was produced by her father, Tim Bevan. (Bevan also was an executive producer on the film Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) which his former brother-in-law, Corin Redgrave acted in.)
From Broadway, to Disney, to movie-musicals, to Nickelodeon Cartoons, and beyond, the Redgraves were all entertaining in their own ways. They each created incredible performances on screen and on stage, resulting in well-deserved accolades . While many of them are no longer with us, the legacy of their family will live on for years to come.
