Jackie Forster (née Jacqueline Moir Mackenzie; 6 November 1926 – 10 October 1998) was an English news reporter, actress and lesbian rights activist.p.270 From the Closet to the Screen – Jill Gardner

Early life

Forster's father was a colonel in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

and she spent her early years in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. When she was six, she was sent to

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

in Britain at

Wycombe Abbey Wycombe Abbey is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private girls' boarding and day school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The school was founded in 1896 by Dame Frances Dove (1847–1942), who was previously headmistress of ...

and then to

St Leonards School St Leonards School is a co-educational private boarding and day school for pupils aged 4–19 in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Founded in 1877 as St Andrews School for Girls Company, it adopted the St Leonards name upon moving to its current pre ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she played

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

and

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

for Scotland. Forster became an actress and joined the Wilson Barrett repertory company in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, before moving to London in 1950. She attended the

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It opened on April 20, 1927. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre cen ...

Club, as well as being was in various West End productions and films, before developing a successful career as a TV presenter and news reporter under the name of Jacqueline MacKenzie. For her coverage of

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...

and Prince Rainier's wedding, Forster won the Prix d'Italia award in 1956. In 1957, she was on a lecture tour in North America for part of the year, and was in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, when she had her first lesbian affair. Despite this, she married author Peter Forster in 1958, but the marriage was over within two years, as she accepted her true sexual orientation. They divorced in 1962 and she went to live in Canada. Of her early lesbian experiences, she said "I didn't see myself as being a lesbian, or her, because I didn't look as I imagined they did, and nor did she. We weren't short back and sides and natty gent's suiting. I got the image from ''

The Well of Loneliness ''The Well of Loneliness'' is a lesbian novel by British author Radclyffe Hall that was first published in 1928 by Jonathan Cape. It follows the life of Stephen Gordon, an Englishwoman from an upper-class family whose " sexual inversion" (hom ...

'', like we all did. There were drug stores around the States, with these pulp books, lurid stories about lesbians who smoked cigars and had orgies with young girls. I thought, where are these women? We never met anyone we knew were lesbians. There were no other books that I found about lesbians, no films that we ever saw: nothing at all."p.34 From the Closet to the Screen – Jill Gardiner In 1964, Forster returned to Britain to work for

Border Television ITV Border, previously Border Television and commonly referred to as simply Border, is the Channel 3 service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the England/Scotland border region, covering most of Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway, the ...

, and eventually moved in with a girlfriend and her children in London.

Activism and legacy

In the 1960s, Forster joined the

Minorities Research Group The Minorities Research Group (MRG) (est. 1963)p.96 From the Closet to the Screen – Jill Gardiner was the first organisation to openly advocate the interests of lesbians in the United Kingdom. It was founded by four women who got together in re ...

and wrote for its journal ''Arena Three''. She would also regularly promote the magazine in the Gateways club.p.122 From the Closet to the Screen – Jill Gardiner Later on, she came out publicly in 1969 when she joined the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE), and went to serve on its executive committee. She was in the first

Gay Pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...

march in the UK in August 1971. In 1972, Forster was one of the founders of

Sappho Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...

, which was a social group and one of the UK's longest-running lesbian publications (''Sappho'' magazine was published from 1972 to 1981, although the group continued to meet regularly for many more years). The Sappho group members used to meet in the Chepstow pub in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

, and had speakers such as

Maureen Duffy Maureen Patricia Duffy (born 21 October 1933) is an English poet, playwright, novelist and non-fiction author. Long an activist covering such issues as gay rights and animal rights, she campaigns especially on behalf of authors. She has receive ...

and

Anna Raeburn Anna Raeburn (born 3 April 1944) is a British broadcaster, author and journalist who is best known for her role as a radio agony aunt, giving advice on relationships and more general life problems. As a broadcaster, she has worked for Capital L ...

. After Sappho, Forster became a member of the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

's Women's Committee. From 1992 until her death in 1998, Forster was an active member of the Lesbian Archive and Information Centre management Committee (now part of the

Glasgow Women's Library Glasgow Women's Library is a public library, registered company and charity based in the Bridgeton, Glasgow, Bridgeton area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the only accredited museum dedicated to women's history and provides information relevant to ...

). In 1997, a BBC film crew came to the archive to film her for a programme about her life, which was to be part of ''The Day That Changed My Life'' series. Her work has made a huge impact on shaping the archive. On 6 November 2017,

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

commemorated her 91st birthday. On 26 February 2025, a rainbow plaque was unveiled at her former London home in Warwick Avenue.

Television and film appearances

*''Caesar's Wife'', 1951, television acting role. *''

You're Only Young Twice ''You're Only Young Twice'' is a British TV sitcom made and broadcast on the ITV network by Yorkshire Television from 6 September 1977 to 11 August 1981. Plot Set in Paradise Lodge retirement home, ''You're Only Young Twice'' was created an ...

'', 1952, film acting role as Nellie. *''Love and Mr Lewisham'', 1953, television acting role. *''The Wedding of Lili Marlene'', 1953, film acting role as Theatre Barmaid. *''Serious Charge'', 1953, repertory theatre acting role. *''The Broken Jug'', 1953, television acting role as Grete. *''Gilbert Harding Finds Out'', 1954, as straight-to-camera television reporter. *''Lilacs in the Spring'', 1954, film acting role. *'' The Dam Busters'', 1955, film acting role as Canteen Waitress. *'' You Can't Escape'', 1955, television acting role as Mrs Baggerley. *Grace Kelly's Monaco wedding to Prince Rainier, 1956, as straight-to-camera television reporter. Won a Prix D'Italia. *''Pantomania or Dick Wittington'', 1956, television comedy acting role. *''Tonight'', as straight-to-camera television reporter. *''Hotfoot and Highlight'', as straight-to-camera television reporter. *''Panorama'', as straight-to-camera television reporter. *''Late Night Extra'', as straight-to-camera television reporter. *''Trouble for Two'', 1958, television acting role in a sitcom. *''Discovering America'', 1958–1960, as straight-to-camera television reporter. *''Jacqueline Mackenzie in America'', as straight-to-camera television reporter. *''Speak for Yourself'', 1974 as television co-scriptwriter. *''Gays: Speaking Up'', 1978 as interviewee. *''We Recruit'', 1995, appearance in a Channel 4 television documentary about the

Lesbian Avengers The Lesbian Avengers was an American direct action group. The group was founded in 1992 in New York City by six individuals: Ana Maria Simo, Anne Maguire, Anne-Christine D'Adesky, Marie Honan, Maxine Wolfe, and Sarah Schulman. The organizatio ...

. *''From High Heels to Sensible Shoes'', 1997, contributor to the BBC television series ''The Day That Changed My Life''.

References

External links

Brighton Our Story

Sappho at the Lesbian Archive and Information Centre

Jackie Forster at the British Film Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, Jackie 1926 births 1998 deaths English people of Scottish descent 20th-century English actresses Actresses from London English film actresses English television presenters English LGBTQ rights activists LGBTQ people from London People educated at St Leonards School People educated at Wycombe Abbey Actors from the London Borough of Islington 20th-century English LGBTQ people

Early life

Activism and legacy

Television and film appearances

See also

References

External links