Ivy Close

Ivy Close
File:Ivyclose.jpg Ivy Close
Born	15 June 1890 Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham United Kingdom
Died	4 December 1968 Goring, Oxfordshire United Kingdom
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1912 - 1929 (film)

Ivy Close (15 June 1890 – 4 December 1968) was a British actress. She acted in 44 films between 1912 and 1929.

Personal life

Close was born 15 June 1890 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham and died 4 December 1968 in Goring, Oxfordshire. Her first husband was photographer and filmmaker Elwin Neame (1885–1923). Together they established Ivy Close Films in 1914, one of the first movie production companies founded by a film star. This marriage produced two sons: the director, cinematographer, producer and screenwriter Ronald Neame (1911–2010) and author and screenwriter Derek Neame (1915–1979). Her grandson, by Ronald, was producer and screenwriter Christopher Neame (1942–2011) and her great grandson, by Christopher, is producer Gareth Neame (1967– ). In 1938 she married Australian stuntman and make-up artist Curly Batson; this marriage lasted until his death in 1957.

In 1908, Ivy Close was named the World's Most Beautiful Woman by the British tabloid Daily Mirror, beating over 1,500 contestants. Besides acting, her other pursuits were motorcycling and golf. She also worked as a model in advertising campaigns and sang in English music halls. Her film career ended with the advent of talkies, as her English accent was deemed unsuitable for American audiences.

Selected filmography

File:Ivy Close in The Girl and the Tenor.jpg

The Girl and the Tenor (1916)

• The Lure of London (1914)
• The Ware Case (1917)
• The House Opposite (1917)
• Nelson (1918)
• Missing the Tide (1918)
• A Peep Behind the Scenes (1918)
• Adam Bede (1918)
• The Irresistible Flapper (1919)
• The Flag Lieutenant (1919)
• Darby and Joan (1919)
• The Worldlings (1920)
• Was She Justified? (1922)
• Expiation (1922)
• La roue (1923)
• The Merry Farmer (1929)

External links

• Ivy Close at the Internet Movie Database