Historical Figure
Jane Seymour
d. 1537
British actress (born 1951)
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Biography
Jane Seymour is a British actress. After making her screen debut as an uncredited teenage extra in the 1969 musical comedy Oh! What a Lovely War, Seymour moved to roles in film and television, including a leading role in the television series The Onedin Line (1972–1973) the role of psychic Bond girl Solitaire in the James Bond film Live and Let Die (1973) and as Serina in the original 1978 series of Battlestar Galactica.
Timeline
The story of Jane Seymour, told in moments.
Born at Wulfhall in Wiltshire, England. Daughter of Sir John Seymour, a courtier. Educated at home in needlework, household management, and reading. Not considered a great beauty by Tudor standards.
Served as lady-in-waiting to both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. She watched two queens rise and fall while quietly attending them. Henry noticed her as Anne's star faded.
Anne Boleyn was beheaded at the Tower of London. Henry VIII was betrothed to Jane the next day. They married on May 30 at the Palace of Whitehall. Eleven days from execution to wedding.
Gave birth to Prince Edward at Hampton Court Palace after a long and difficult labor lasting two days and three nights. Henry finally had his male heir.
Died of puerperal fever, 12 days after giving birth. She was around 29. Henry wore black for three months. He called her his "true wife" and was buried beside her at Windsor Castle a decade later.
In Their Own Words (4)
When you get older, as a leading lady it gets harder…You try not to have someone else upstage or take the shine. When I play character roles I am usually playing people who are slightly over the top, so that goes fine.
On staying the course as a leading lady in “Jane Seymour: 'I try not to let anyone upstage me'” in The Telegraph (2016 Apr 10), 2016
I was always left out when I was a little girl. I was different from everyone…People were jealous but I didn’t realise. I had a reunion with some school friends recently and they said, 'We were mean to you because you got special attention because you were so beautiful.’ I said, 'I wasn’t beautiful. I was gawky.’ I never ever imagined myself to look nice.
On feeling isolated as a child in “Jane Seymour: 'I try not to let anyone upstage me'” in The Telegraph (2016 Apr 10), 2016
Over the years, I’ve learnt that out of challenge comes opportunity and I know if I hadn’t been tested, I wouldn’t have pushed myself or been able to discover my abilities.
On meeting the challenges that life brings in “Intervie Jane Seymour on finding love again at 64” in The Scotsman (2015 Oct 10), 2015
She always taught me, ‘Open your heart when times get tough, accept what happens, live in the moment and reach out to help others as there’s always someone worse off than you’. She believed, rightly, that gives you purpose and helps you heal. So I always do my best to forgive and move forward.
On the lessons that her Dutch mother (who was interned in a Japanese internment camp during WWII) instilled in her in “Intervie Jane Seymour on finding love again at 64” in The Scotsman (2015 Oct 10), 2015
Artifacts (15)
Portret van Jane Seymour (1509?-1537)
Hans Holbein de Jonge
Hans Holbein II. Portrait of Jane Seymour
Hans Holbein the Younger
Portrait of an Unknown Man, possibily identifiable as Thomas Seymour (c.1508-49)
Holbein, Hans (II)
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