Shirley Matilda Jaffe (born Shirley Matilda Jacobs; 1934 – 12 October 2022) was a British actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, before embarking on a career on stage and screen, most famously appearing in Stanley Kubrick's ''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

''. After a lengthy break raising a family, she returned to professional acting in 2002.

Life and career

Shirley Matilda Jacobs was born in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

in 1934. She trained at the Central School of Speech & Drama in 1954, and among other jobs was in the first

British Theatre Theatre of United Kingdom plays an important part in British culture, and the countries that constitute the UK have had a vibrant tradition of theatre since the Renaissance with roots going back to the Roman occupation. Beginnings Theatre w ...

in the Round Company at Scarborough with

Stephen Joseph Stephen Joseph (13 June 1921 – 4 October 1967)Colin Chambers (ed.) ''The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre,'' London: Continuum, 2002, p.410 was an English stage director. Life Stephen Joseph was born in London, the child ...

and later

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. As of 2025, he has written and produced 90 full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen ...

, and in the last year of long running TV serial ''

Emergency Ward 10 ''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. It is considered to be one of British television's first major soap operas. Overview The series was made by the ITV contractor ATV and set in ...

'' as Nurse Angela Foster. Her film career began in 1970 as a maid in

Peter Sasdy Peter Sasdy (born 27 May 1935 in Budapest, Hungary) is a British film and television director. In addition to his numerous TV credits, notable among which is the Nigel Kneale-scripted '' The Stone Tape'' (1972), he directed several horror film ...

's ''

Taste the Blood of Dracula ''Taste the Blood of Dracula'' is a 1970 British supernatural horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Peter Sasdy from a script by Anthony Hinds, it is the fifth installment in Hammer's ''Dracula'' series, and the fourth t ...

''. In 1971 she made a brief appearance in

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

's film ''

.'' Some sources erroneously identify her as the Billy Boy's gang victim, but she played a nurse who helps administer the first round of Ludovico's treatment to Alex (

Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is an English actor. He first became known for portraying Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson's ''if....'' (1968), a role he later reprised in ''O Lucky Man!'' (1973) and ''Britannia Hospital ...

). Skybreak, the home she then shared with her husband Tony, was also featured in the film, as the interior location for the scene in which Alex's gang attacks a writer and his wife (played by Patrick Magee and

Adrienne Corri Adrienne Corri (born Adrienne Riccoboni; 13 November 1931 – 13 March 2016) was a Scottish actress. Early life She was born Adrienne Riccoboni in Glasgow in November 1931, the daughter of an English mother (Olive Smethurst) and an Italian fa ...

) in ''A Clockwork Orange'' was Shirley's last film appearance for close to 35 years. Jaffe appeared on television in

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's ''

Earth Song "Earth Song" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was written and produced by Michael Jackson, David Foster and Bill Bottrell. It was released by Epic Records on November 13, 1995, as the third single from Jackson's n ...

'' music video, and as a Greek nun in ''

Little Britain Abroad ''Little Britain'' is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written and performed by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas. The show's title is an ama ...

''. She directed and acted in plays in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

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 ...

, The West End and Helsinki festivals and most recently played Irene in award-winning British feature ''Ambleton Delight''. She was nominated for a Star award in the Brighton Fringe for her performance as "Nana" in the new musical, ''Here Comes the Bride''. Jaffe died on 12 October 2022.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Star Now bio
*Shirley Jaffe as Chris' grandmother, Irene Phillips in

' 1934 births 2022 deaths English film actresses English stage actresses Actors from the London Borough of Barnet People from Hendon {{England-actor-stub