Melanie Jane Bartley: Inside The Life Of Deborah Kerr’s Daughter

Melanie Jane Bartley is the daughter of British actress Deborah Jane Trimmer best known as Deborah Kerr. Melanie’s mother Deborah is known for appearing in films including The King and I, Black Narcissus, From Here to Eternity, Separate Tables, The Innocents, The Grass Is Greener, and The Night of the Iguana.

Melanie Jane Bartley: Bio Summary

Who Is Deborah Kerr’s Daughter, Melanie Jane Bartley?

Melanie Jane Bartley was born on 27 December 1947. She will be turning 76 years old after her birthday in 2023, on December 27. She is the daughter of Deborah Jane Trimmer aka Deborah Kerr (30 September 1921 – 16 October 2007), and Anthony Charles Bartley also known as Tony Bartley (28 March 1919 – April 2001). Both parents of Melanie worked in the film industry.

Melanie’s mother was an actress while her father was a film and television executive. Her father was also a fighter pilot. He was a WWII Royal Air Force squadron leader. Melanie is the oldest of her parents’ two children. She has a younger sister called Francesca Anne Bartley. Francesca was born on December 18, 1951, and was married to actor John Shrapnel.

Melanie‘s stepfather became author and screenwriter Peter Viertel after Peter and her mother got married. Melanie’s mother was the stepmother to Peter’s daughter, Christine Viertel. Melanie’s stepmother was Victoria Mann. Her father and Victoria had two daughters, Cindy and Teresa. Her maternal grandmother was Kathleen Rose (née Smale).

Melanie’s maternal grandfather Capt. Arthur Charles Kerr Trimmer was a World War I veteran and pilot who lost a leg at the Battle of the Somme and later became a naval architect and civil engineer. Her paternal grandfather was an Irish barrister, Sir Charles Bartley, a Calcutta High Court judge. Melanie has lived a private life away from the spotlight.

Melanie Jane Bartley is said to be a principal research fellow of epidemiology at London University. According to other sources, she is a film producer. She is best known as the daughter of actress Deborah Kerr. Her mother Deborah performed at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park, London, and also performed with the Oxford Repertory Company.

Melanie’s famous mother Deborah Kerr played Ellie Dunn in “Heartbreak House” at the Cambridge Theatre. She appeared in the films, “Blackout”, “Major Barbara”, “Love on the Dole”, “Courageous Mr. Penn”, “A.J. Cronin’s Hatter’s Castle”, “The Avengers”, “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp”, “Vacation from Marriage”, “I See a Dark Stranger”, and “Black Narcissus”.

ALSO, READ: Francesca Shrapnel: Who Is Deborah Kerr’s Daughter?

Deborah played Kay Dorrance in The Hucksters, Nona Tyber in If Winter Comes, Evelyn Boult in Edward, My Son, Alison Kirbe in Please Believe Me, and Elizabeth Curtis in King Solomon’s Mines. She was awarded a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Anna Leonowens in the musical film The King and I (1956). She was in the TV Mini-Series, A Woman of Substance.

Deborah appeared in other notable films including “Tea and Sympathy”, “Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison”, “An Affair to Remember”, “Bonjour Tristesse”, “Separate Tables”, “The Journey”, “The Grass Is Greener”, “The Innocents”, “The Chalk Garden”, “Marriage on the Rocks”, “The Arrangement”, and “The Assam Garden”.She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Deborah Kerr became the first person from Scotland to be nominated for any acting Oscar. She received an Academy Honorary Award with a citation recognizing her as “an artist of impeccable grace and beauty, a dedicated actress whose motion picture career has always stood for perfection, discipline and elegance”.

What Happened To Melanie Jane Bartley’s Parents?

Melanie Jane Bartley’s parents Deborah Kerr and Tony Bartley are both not alive. Her father Tony passed away in April 2001. He was at the age of 82 when he died. The cause of his death was undisclosed. Her mother Deborah died on 16 October 2007, in Botesdale, Suffolk, England. She died from the effects of Parkinson’s disease when she was 86 years old.

Melanie’s mother Deborah lived in Switzerland but returned to England to be closer to her family when her illness worsened. She was buried at Alfold Cemetery, Alfold, Waverley Borough, Surrey, England.