Deborah Kerr

Kerr – Deborah Kerr File Photos – Paris – Paris, France – Photo Credit: Pixplanete / PR Photos, perhaps c. 1950

Birth Name: Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer

Date of Birth: 30 September, 1921

Place of Birth: Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland

Date of Death: 16 October, 2007

Place of Death: Botesdale, Suffolk, England, U.K.

Ethnicity: English, Scottish

Deborah Kerr was a Scottish-born actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress six times, more than any other actress who has not won. Her roles included the films Major Barbara, Love on the Dole, Penn of Pennsylvania, Hatter’s Castle, The Day Will Dawn, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Perfect Strangers (1945), I See a Dark Stranger, Black Narcissus (1947), The Hucksters, If Winter Comes, Edward, My Son; Please Believe Me, King Solomon’s Mines (1950), Quo Vadis (1951), Thunder in the East, The Prisoner of Zenda (1952), Julius Caesar (1953), Young Bess, Dream Wife, From Here to Eternity, The End of the Affair (1955), The Proud and Profane, The King and I (1956), Tea and Sympathy, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison; An Affair to Remember (1957), Bonjour Tristesse, Separate Tables, The Journey (1959), Count Your Blessings, Beloved Infidel, The Sundowners, The Grass Is Greener, The Naked Edge, The Innocents (1961), The Chalk Garden, The Night of the Iguana, Marriage on the Rocks, Eye of the Devil, Casino Royale (1967), Prudence and the Pill, The Gypsy Moths, The Arrangement (1969), and The Assam Garden; the made-for-tv movies Witness for the Prosecution (1982), Reunion at Fairborough, and Ann and Debbie; and the mini-series A Woman of Substance and Hold the Dream.

Deborah was born in Glasgow, the daughter of Kathleen Rose (Smale) and Capt. Arthur Charles Kerr-Trimmer. Her father was born in Newton Abbot, Teignbridge District, Devon, England, and was a naval architect and civil engineer. He was a WWI veteran, who had lost a leg at the Battle of the Somme. Her mother was born in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, to English parents.

She was married to German Jewish author and screenwriter Peter Viertel, until her death. She had two children with her former husband, squadron leader and film and television executive Tony Bartley. Through her daughter, her grandson is actor Lex Shrapnel.

Deborah’s paternal grandfather was named Arthur Kerr-Trimmer.

Deborah’s maternal grandfather was Charles Blackwell Smale (the son of John Rowe Smale and Harriett Jane Blackwell). Charles was born in Lydney, Gloucestershire, England. Harriett was the daughter of Charles Blackwell and Margaret.

Deborah’s maternal grandmother was named Ann Widdowson. Ann was born in Leicester, Leicester, England.

Sources: Genealogies of Deborah Kerr – https://www.geni.com
https://www.findagrave.com