Diane Cilento (2 April 1932 – 6 October 2011) was an Australian actress. She is best known for her film roles in ''

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

'' (1963), which earned her an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination, '' Hombre'' (1967) and '' The Wicker Man'' (1973). She also received a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

nomination for her performance as

Helen of Troy Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...

in the play '' Tiger at the Gates''.

Early life

Cilento was born in

Mooloolaba Mooloolaba is a coastal suburb of Maroochydore in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is located north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is part of the Maroochydore urban centre. In the , Mooloolaba had a population of 7,73 ...

, Queensland, the daughter of Phyllis (née McGlew) and

Raphael Cilento Sir Raphael West Cilento (2 December 189315 April 1985), often known as "Ray",Mark Finnane, ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 17, Melbourne University Press, pp 216-217. was a notable Australian medical practitioner and public heal ...

, both medical practitioners in Queensland. She was the fifth of six children; four of her siblings became medical practitioners, while her sister

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

was an artist. Cilento's paternal great-grandfather, Salvatore Cilento, arrived from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, in 1855.Desmond O'Connor
Italians in South Australia: The first hundred years
, In D. O’Connor and A. Comin (eds) 1993. "Proceedings: the First Conference on the Impact of Italians in South Australia, 16–17 July 1993", Italian Congress: Italian Discipline, The Flinders University of South Australia: Adelaide, pp.15-32. Her maternal grandfather was merchant and exporter

Charles Thomas McGlew Charles Thomas McGlew (1870–1931), a South Australian merchant and exporter, was the first to export barley from Australia. Origins Born at Redfern, Sydney, in 1870, he was a son of Cornelius Stanley McGlew (1839–1924), an English-born minin ...

. It was from a young age that Cilento decided to follow a career as an actress. After being expelled from school in Australia, she was schooled in New York whilst living with her father. Cilento later won a scholarship to the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

and moved to Britain in the early 1950s.

Career

After graduation, Cilento found work on stage almost immediately and was signed to a five-year contract by

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Passage Home'' (1955), opposite fellow Australian

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...

. She soon secured roles in British films and worked steadily until the end of the decade. In 1956, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic) for

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His ...

's '' Tiger at the Gates''. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in ''

'' in 1963 and appeared in '' The Third Secret'' the following year. She starred with

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten ...

in the 1965 film '' The Agony and the Ecstasy'', and with

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

in the 1967 western film '' Hombre'', and had a supporting role in '' The Wicker Man'' (1973). Cilento continued working as an actress, in films and television. In the 1980s, she settled in Mossman, north of

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, where she built her own outdoor theatre, named "Karnak", in the tropical rainforest. The venture allowed her to participate in experimental drama. In 2001, she was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

for "distinguished service to the arts, especially theatre".

Personal life

In 1955, Cilento married Andrea Volpe, an Italian aristocrat. She gave birth to their daughter Giovanna Volpe in 1957. Cilento and Volpe divorced in 1962. In 1962, Cilento married actor

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

. They had a son,

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

(born 1963), before separating in 1971 and divorcing in 1974. In her autobiography ''My Nine Lives'', Cilento said that Connery was

emotionally Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

and physically abusive during their marriage. In 1985, Cilento married playwright Anthony Shaffer, whom she met in 1972, while working on the film ''The Wicker Man''. They remained together until his death in 2001.

Death

Cilento died of cancer at Cairns Base Hospital on 6 October 2011. A collection of items from her estate was donated to the

Queensland University of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The unive ...

and is housed in the library.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Writings

* 1968: ''Manipulator''.

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan R ...

. * 1972: ''Hybrid''.

Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and so ...

. * 2007: ''My Nine Lives.''

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Diane Cilento
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Diane Cilento's Karnak Playhouse

– interview with Cilento by Rachael Kohn on ABC

Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors a ...

May 2006 (MP3/Podcast available)
The Cilento Gift
– a collection of books, memorabilia, posters, furniture and original scripts from Diane Cilento's estate {{DEFAULTSORT:Cilento, Diane 1932 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Australian film actresses Australian people of Italian descent Australian stage actresses Australian television actresses Deaths from cancer in Queensland People from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland Recipients of the Centenary Medal Queensland Greats