June Beatrice Freud, Lady Freud (''née'' Flewett; born 22 April 1927) is a British actress and

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

. She is also known by her stage-name Jill Raymond, and was usually known as Jill Freud after her marriage to

Clement Freud Sir Clement Raphael Freud (24 April 1924 – 15 April 2009) was a British media personality, broadcaster, writer, politician and chef. The son of Ernst L. Freud and grandson of Sigmund Freud, Clement moved to the United Kingdom from Nazi Germany ...

. As a war-time teenager, she was evacuated to

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

's house in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and she is said to have been the inspiration for

Lucy Pevensie Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. She is the youngest of the four Pevensie children and the first to find the Wardrobe entrance to The Chronicles of Narnia, Narnia in ''The Lion, the Witc ...

in the ''

Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, ...

''.

Stay with Lewis

She and her two sisters were evacuated from London to escape

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

. In the summer of 1943, at the age of 16, she moved in with the Lewises at their home

The Kilns The Kilns, also known as C. S. Lewis House, is the house in Risinghurst, Oxford, England, where the author C. S. Lewis wrote all of his The Chronicles of Narnia, Narnia books and other classics. The house itself was featured in the Narnia books. ...

, in

Risinghurst Risinghurst is a suburb of Oxford, England east of the city centre, just outside the Oxford Ring Road. It is near to Headington, Barton and Wood Farm. It was built during the interwar period to relieve the housing shortage from working-class ...

, as a housekeeper. Her favourite writer was C. S. Lewis and initially she had no idea she was living in a house with the same man. She developed what she later called a "tremendous crush" on Lewis. She was highly regarded in the household and Lewis in a letter to Flewett's mother, Winifred, on 4 January 1945, said: "I have never really met anything like her unselfishness and patience and kindness and shall feel deeply in her debt as long as I live."

Career

Flewett was an aspiring actress. After two years, she left the Lewises to take up a place at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 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 London ...

(RADA), her fees being paid by Lewis. Following her graduation, she embarked upon a successful career in the West End under the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Jill Raymond. She married

in 1950 and performed in occasional radio plays. In the 1970s, when her husband became a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

MP for the

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an Administrative counties of England, administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to ...

, she helped him canvass. In 1980, she formed her own theatre company, "Jill Freud and Company", in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. In 2001 she received an

Honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

Doctorate in Civil Law from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

"for services to the theatre."

Family

She has five children (one adopted), including

Emma Freud Emma Vallencey Freud (born 25 January 1962) is an English broadcaster and cultural commentator. Early life Freud was born in London on 25 January 1962 and is the daughter of politician and broadcaster Sir Clement Freud (1924–2009) and June ...

and

Matthew Freud Matthew Rupert Freud (born 2 November 1963) is a British entrepreneur and public relations executive and head of Freud Communications, an international public relations firm in the United Kingdom. Early life Freud was born in London, the young ...

, and 17 grandchildren. Lady Freud is Vice President of TACT, the Actors' Children's Trust."Famous Names," TACT, the Actors' Children's Trust official website
/ref>

References

1927 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English stage actresses English theatre directors British women theatre directors Place of birth missing (living people) Freud family People educated at Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith 20th-century English actresses Actresses from London People from Kensington Actors from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea {{england-bio-stub