Rachel Kempson

Rachel, Lady Redgrave (28 May 1910 – 24 May 2003) was an English actress. Kempson was born in Dartmouth, England, the daughter of Beatrice Hamilton (née Ashwell) and Eric William Edward Kempson, who was a headmaster. She was the wife of Sir Michael Redgrave; daughter-in-law of Roy Redgrave and Margaret Scudamore; mother of Vanessa, Lynn and Corin Redgrave; and grandmother of Joely and Natasha Richardson (1963-2009), Jemma Redgrave, Carlo Nero, Be... more

Rachel, Lady Redgrave (28 May 1910 – 24 May 2003) was an English actress. Kempson was born in Dartmouth, England, the daughter of Beatrice Hamilton (née Ashwell) and Eric William Edward Kempson, who was a headmaster. She was the wife of Sir Michael Redgrave; daughter-in-law of Roy Redgrave and Margaret Scudamore; mother of Vanessa, Lynn and Corin Redgrave; and grandmother of Joely and Natasha Richardson (1963-2009), Jemma Redgrave, Carlo Nero, Benjamin B. Clark (1968- ), Kelly B. Clark (1970- ), and Annabel Lucy Clark (1981- ). In 1959 her husband was knighted, and she became, formally, Lady Redgrave. She never used this name professionally. In 2003, four days before what would have been her 93rd birthday, she died of a stroke at the home of her granddaughter, Natasha Richardson, in Millbrook, New York. Kempson trained at RADA before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company. She married Michael Redgrave in 1935 and appeared with him many times on stage. She also appeared many times on... less