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Rachel, Lady Redgrave (28 May 1910 – 24 May 2003), known primarily by her birth name as Rachel Kempson, was an English actress. She married Sir Michael Redgrave, and was the matriarch of the famous acting dynasty. Kempson trained at RADA before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company. She married Michael Redgrave in 1935 and the couple appeared together many times on stage. She also appeared many times on film and television, most notably in the films The Captive Heart (1946); Tom Jones (1963); Out of Africa (1985), Uncle Vanya (1991); and the television series The Jewel in the Crown... MORE

Rachel, Lady Redgrave (28 May 1910 – 24 May 2003), known primarily by her birth name as Rachel Kempson, was an English actress. She married Sir Michael Redgrave, and was the matriarch of the famous acting dynasty. Kempson trained at RADA before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company. She married Michael Redgrave in 1935 and the couple appeared together many times on stage. She also appeared many times on film and television, most notably in the films The Captive Heart (1946); Tom Jones (1963); Out of Africa (1985), Uncle Vanya (1991); and the television series The Jewel in the Crown (1984). Her 1986 autobiography, Life Among the Redgraves was published by Dutton. According to Publishers Weekly, "Lady Redgrave writes with candor, wit, restraint and some sadness about her background, beginnings in the theater in 1932, marriage and motherhood, the trials of moving and the problems of being married to a handsome matinee idol." Kempson was born in Dartmouth, Devon, England, the daughter of Beatrice Hamilton (née Ashwell) and Eric William Edward Kempson, who was a headmaster. Kempson married fellow actor Michael Redgrave in 1935, and became the daughter-in-law of Roy Redgrave and Margaret LESS