Natasha Parry (born Natalie Wills; 2 December 1930 – 22 July 2015) was an English actress. Recognised for her work on stage and screen, she was best known for her collaborations with her husband, director Peter Brook. She was the mother of filmmakers Irina and Simon Brook.
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Early life
Parry was born Natalie Wills in London in 1930. Her mother was a White Russian émigré who, according to John Heilpern, was related to Alexander Pushkin. At some point, her mother remarried to film director Gordon Parry.
Career
Stage
Parry made her stage debut at age 12 in The Wingless Victory. At 14, she was in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and later she played in Big Ben and Bless the Bride. On Broadway she appeared in The Fighting Cock (1959–1960). Toward the end of her career, she was in The Tragedy of Hamlet at the Young Vic in London.
Film
Parry made her screen debut in Dance Hall (1950). She appeared in many of her husband's productions including a live American television version of King Lear (1953) opposite Orson Welles, in Anouilh's The Fighting Cock with Rex Harrison, Meetings with Remarkable Men, The Cherry Orchard, and Happy Days.
Personal life
In 1951, she married director Peter Brook at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints, Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge, London. The couple had two children, Irina and Simon.
Parry stopped performing for a year after contracting tuberculosis in 1952.
Death
Parry died on 22 July 2015 (Some sources say 23 July) while on holiday in La Baule, Brittany, France, at the age of 84 after a stroke.
Acting credits
Selected television
Sir Francis Drake – The Prisoner (1961) as Countess Inez
The Count of Monte Cristo (1964) as Mercédès
Selected theatre
King Lear (1953)
Tchin-Tchin (1984, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris)