Paula Elsa Jacobs (1932 – 26 June 2021) was a British actress whose television and film career spanned four decades.
Apr 28 2016Early life
Born in Liverpool in 1932 into a Jewish family,1 her father was J.P. Jacobs, whose company supplied all the elastic to Marks & Spencer.
Career
Jacobs made her first television appearance in Z-Cars in 1962, going on to play roles in Softly, Softly: Task Force (1972–1975), Shoestring (1979), Hammer House of Horror (1980), Mapp & Lucia (1985), Peggy Sagar in Albion Market (1985), Mrs Biggs in Porterhouse Blue (1987), The New Statesman (1989), Bergerac (1990), Maud Wilberforce in Jeeves and Wooster (1990), Brookside (1992), French and Saunders (1993), Coronation Street (1994), Casualty (1989–1995), Drop the Dead Donkey (1994–1998), Dalziel and Pascoe (2000), Midsomer Murders (2002), Agatha Christie's Poirot (2004) and Doctors (2008).2
Her film appearances include Birth of the Beatles (1979), An American Werewolf in London (1981), She'll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas (1985), We Think the World of You (1988), Duel of Hearts (1991), The Remains of the Day (1993) and Tea with Mussolini (1999).34
Personal life
In 1953 in her native Liverpool she married the actor David Swift who on graduating from Cambridge worked for her father's company.56 She was the mother of actress Julia Swift and the mother-in-law of actor David Bamber. She and her late husband were trustees of the J P Jacobs Charitable Trust, set up in memory of her father.7
Death
Jacobs died on 26 June 202189 and she is buried with her husband David on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Birth of the Beatles | Mrs. Flemming | |
| 1981 | An American Werewolf in London | Mrs. Kessler | |
| 1985 | The Assam Garden | Carol | |
| 1985 | She'll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas | Doreen | |
| 1988 | We Think the World of You | Deidre | |
| 1991 | Duel of Hearts | Landlady | TV film |
| 1993 | The Remains of the Day | Mrs. Mortimer, the Cook | |
| 1999 | Tea with Mussolini | Molly |
External links
- Paula Jacobs at IMDb
- Jacobs on TV.com
- Jacobs on Hollywood.com at archive.today (archived 2013-01-25)
References
England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007 for Paula E Jacobs, 1932: Ancestry.com (subscription required) https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/8782/images/ons_b19322az-0641?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=8ef63ced19e56c771bde3a49bde4863e&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=29462013 ↩
Filmography of Paula Jacobs, British Comedy Guide https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/paula_jacobs/ ↩
Jacobs on fandango.com http://www.fandango.com/paulajacobs/filmography/p34920 ↩
Filmography of Paula Jacobs, British Film Institute Database https://web.archive.org/web/20161027015448/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba04e81f8 ↩
England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 for Paula E Jacobs, 1953: Ancestry.com (subscription required) https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/8753/images/ons_m19533az-0848?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=8ef63ced19e56c771bde3a49bde4863e&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=28154189 ↩
Obituary for David Swift, The Daily Telegraph, 28 April 2016 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/04/28/david-swift-actor--obituary/ ↩
Crompton Court Residents Association Limited, Companies House database https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/01377466/charges ↩
The Times – Births, marriages and deaths: July 2, 2021 https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/births-marriages-and-deaths-june-2-2021-9lj9wzx76 ↩
Equity Magazine, Autumn/Winter 2021, Obituaries, pg. 42 https://www.equity.org.uk/media/5833/equity-magazine-pdf-for-web.pdf ↩