Hildegard Hope Zimmermann (20 May 1939 – 19 September 2023), also credited as Hildegard Neil, was an English actress.

Career

Born in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, she came to England in 1961 and went to

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...

for two years. Neil first appeared on television in a BBC schools' television production of ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

'' in 1963 and after that appeared mostly as a guest artiste in a variety of television series over the next 40 years. She has also appeared in several films and on stage, both in the West End and touring.

Personal life

Neil was married to actor

Brian Blessed Brian Blessed ( ; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars''; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television ...

and had a daughter with him, Rosalind, who is also an actress and represented by the same agent as her mother. On 23 May 2009, Neil appeared with her husband on the ITV entertainment show, ''

All Star Mr & Mrs ''All Star Mr & Mrs'' is a British television show which first began airing on 12 April 2008 on ITV. It is a celebrity revival of the original '' Mr and Mrs'' that aired on ITV from 1968 to 1988 with two separate revivals in 1995–1996 and 1 ...

'', on which it was established that she was a keen

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...

supporter. Hildegarde Neil died of cancer on 19 September 2023, at the age of 84.

Stage appearances

* Neil spent a season at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

in 1969-70, playing a variety of roles. * Neil played Lady Macbeth in Ewan Hooper's production of ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' at the Greenwich Theatre, which opened on 18 February 1971. * Neil directed Roan School for Girls' production of ''

Much Ado about Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'' in 1971 and ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'' in 1972.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neil, Hildegarde 1939 births 2023 deaths 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from London English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses