Patricia Roc

She was educated at exclusive schools in London and Paris, and studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts 1935 - 1936.

She made her stage debut in 1937 in 'The Late Christopher Bean' and 'Reunion in Venice' at the Kings Hammersmith.

She made her stage debut, in 1938, in a London West End production of the comedy, "Nuts in May", playing the part of Miss Clarke, at The Ambassadors Theatre where she was spotted by movie mogul Alexander Korda. She then made her screen debut in the 1938 costume epic, The Rebel Son (1938). She had a 40-film movie career that blossomed during WWII.

Her first marriage in 1939 was to a Canadian osteopath 20 years her senior. It lasted only a few years.

One of Britain's biggest female stars of the post-war years, she appeared at various positions (3rd being the highest) in the British and Motion Picture Herald popularity polls, between 1945-50. She was pretty, vivacious and charming, which was all most of her early roles called for.

She appeared in a number of the hugely popular wartime Gainsborough costume dramas, including Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945) and The Wicked Lady (1945).

She also made one film in Hollywood, the Technicolor Canyon Passage (1946).

Her best acting opportunities were in The Brothers (1947), as a sexy orphan wreaking havoc on a remote Scottish Island, and When the Bough Breaks (1947), a stark unwed mother drama.

She moved to Paris upon her second marriage in 1949 and began to work increasingly in European cinema, filming in France and Italy (and a French-Canadian feature in Quebec).

One son, Michael (born in Paris), from an affair with Something Money Can't Buy (1952) co-star, Anthony Steel. Michael was raised as the son of her second husband, André Thomas.

She returned to England in the late fifties, making three more films (her last) and a few TV appearances before retiring in 1963.