Barbara Shelley

Barbara Shelley (born Barbara Teresa Kowin; 13 February 1932 – 3 January 2021) was an English film and television actress. She appeared in more than a hundred films and television series. She was particularly known for her work in horror films, notably Village of the Damned; Dracula, Prince of Darkness; Rasputin, the Mad Monk and Quatermass and the Pit. Biography Shelley was born in London, England, on 13 February 1932. Her parents were May (née Hayes) and Robert Kowin. She had an older sister, Jo, who emigrated to Canada to become a writer and producer for CBC Television. Shelley attended a convent in Harlesden, north London, where she performed in Gilbert and Sullivan productions and school plays, as well as participating in local Catholic youth drama festivals. 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, who recognised her talent and suggested she change her name to that of his favourite poet, Shelley. Although she had planned a month's holiday, Shelley lived in Rome for four years and appeared in nine Italian films, speaking Italian. Horror films Shelley returned to the UK in 1957, starring that year in the film Cat Girl for British Lion Films. The following year she made her first significant appearance in a film for Hammer, The Camp on Blood Island. She then appeared in the gothic horror Blood of the Vampire (1958), distributed by Eros Films, and later took a number of roles in horror features, including Village of the Damned (1960) for MGM-British, and The Gorgon (1964), Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966), Rasputin, the Mad Monk (1966) and Quatermass and the Pit (1967) for Hammer. She became the company's top female star and was nicknamed the "Queen of Hammer". Her final role on screen was in the Uncle Silas mini series in 1989.