The world of British theatre and film has lost one of its most spirited figures with the death of Jill Freud at the age of 98. The actor, renowned for her role in Love Actually and her profound connection to CS Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family.
A Final Bow and a Lasting Legacy
Her daughter, the scriptwriter Emma Freud, announced the news, sharing poignant details of her mother's final hours. "My beautiful 98-year-old mum has taken her final bow," she wrote. "After a loving evening – where we knew she was on her way – surrounded by children, grandchildren and pizza, she told us all to fuck off so she could go to sleep. And then she never woke up. Her final words were 'I love you'."
Emma Freud celebrated her mother's extensive career, which included her memorable part as the Downing Street housekeeper in the Christmas classic Love Actually, a film written and directed by her son-in-law, Richard Curtis. Beyond the screen, Jill Freud's passion was the stage. For three decades, she ran repertory theatre companies in Suffolk, where she was known for her dedication, her shepherd's pie, and her fierce advocacy for actors' rights.
The Real Lucy Pevensie and a Life in the Arts
Born June Flewett in London in 1927, her life took a fateful turn when she was evacuated as a teenager to Oxford during the war. She eventually became a housekeeper at The Kilns, the home of author CS Lewis. It was here that her story became intertwined with literary history. She recalled the large cupboard on the landing, believed to be the very wardrobe that inspired the entrance to Narnia.
Lewis held her in such high regard that in a 1945 letter to her mother, he wrote: "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." It was only after Lewis's death that she learned from his stepson, Douglas Gresham, that she was the prototype for Lucy Pevensie, the kind and courageous youngest child who discovers the magical land.
Lewis even paid for her scholarship to RADA, which she deferred for two years to care for him and his household. After graduating, she adopted the stage name Jill Raymond and quickly found success in the West End and on television.
A Feisty and Unforgettable Character
In 1950, she married celebrity chef and later Liberal MP Clement Freud, with whom she had five children. Together, they were a formidable public couple. While he moved into politics and broadcasting, she founded the Suffolk-based Jill Freud and Company in 1980.
Her daughter Emma described her as "feisty, outrageous, kind, loving and mischievous". She was a mother of five, a grandmother of 17, and a great-grandmother of seven. Her unique character was reflected in her daily habits; she was known to swear by a glass of red wine and a packet of crisps for lunch every day. Even during the Covid lockdown at age 93, she participated in daily tap classes with her family.
In later years, she expressed shock and profound sadness following allegations of historical sexual assault made against her late husband, Clement Freud, who died in 2009. She stated she was "deeply saddened and profoundly sorry for what has happened to these women".
Reflecting on her life within the famous Freud dynasty, she once remarked with characteristic wit that she found it amusing how family trees often omitted her, joking, "They were all born without a mother." Jill Freud's own vibrant and impactful life ensures she will be remembered not as an omission, but as a central, brilliant figure in her own right.
