Barbara Shelley

Barbara Shelley
Born	1932 or 1933 Marylebone, London, England
Died
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1953–1992

Barbara Shelley (born Barbara T. Kowin; 1932 or 1933 – 4 January 2021) was an English film and television actress. She appeared in more than 100 films and TV series and was particularly known for her work in horror films.

Biography

Shelley was born in London, England. Initially shy on stage, her acting teacher suggested that she take up modelling to gain self-confidence. Shelley followed the advice and started modelling in 1951, which led to an offer of a minor role as a fashion show commentator in the 1953 Hammer Film Productions film Mantrap. She was credited for this film under her birth name, Barbara Kowin. The same year, she went to Rome on holiday and met Italian comic actor Walter Chiari. Although she had planned a month's holiday, Shelley lived in Rome for four years and appeared in nine Italian films, speaking Italian.

Shelley returned to England in 1957, and in 1958 made her first significant appearance in a film for Hammer, The Camp on Blood Island. She took a number of roles in gothic horror features for Hammer, such as Blood of the Vampire (1958), The Gorgon (1964) and Rasputin, the Mad Monk (1966). She became the company's top female star and was nicknamed the "Queen of Hammer". She also appeared in Village of the Damned (1960), Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966), and Quatermass and the Pit (1967). Although she is known as a scream queen, her most famous scream (in Dracula) was dubbed by co-star Suzan Farmer. In 2010, writer and actor Mark Gatiss interviewed Shelley about her career at Hammer for his BBC documentary series A History of Horror.

Her television appearances include the first Danger Man episode, "View from a Villa" (1960), plus a subsequent episode that season, "The Traitor" (also 1960); The Saint (1962), an episode of The New Phil Silvers Show (1963), two episodes of 12 O'Clock High (1965 and 1966); The Avengers episodes "Dragonsfield" (1961) and "From Venus with Love" (1967); the television series Prince Regent (1979); The Borgias (1981); the Blake's 7 episode "Stardrive" (1981); the Doctor Who serial Planet of Fire (1984), and EastEnders (1988).

Shelley also acted in the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1975 to 1977.

Shelley was admitted to hospital in December 2020 for a check-up and there contracted COVID-19. After recovery she fell ill with another infection. She died on 4 January 2021, at the age of 88.

Selected filmography

Films

• Supreme Confession (1956)
• Nero's Mistress (1956)
• Cat Girl (1957)
• The Vampire (1957)
• The Camp on Blood Island (1958)
• Blood of the Vampire (1958)
• Murder at Site 3 (1958)
• The End of the Line (1958)
• Bobbikins (1959)
• Village of the Damned (1960)
• A Story of David (1961)
• Shadow of the Cat (1961)
• Postman's Knock (1962)
• Blind Corner (1963)
• Stranglehold (1963)
• The Secret of Blood Island (1964)
• The Gorgon (1964)
• Death Trap (1966)
• Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966)
• Rasputin, the Mad Monk (1966)
• Quatermass and the Pit (1967) (US title: Five Million Years to Earth)
• The Spy Killer (1969)
• Ghost Story (1974)
• The Comedy of Errors (1978)
• The Dark Angel (1991)

Television series

• The Borgias (1981)
• Maigret (1988)

External links

• Barbara Shelley at the Internet Movie Database
• Barbara Shelley at HorrorStars
• BFI profile