Jane Freeman

Biography

Freeman was born in Brentford, London, in 1935 but raised in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, as a child, following the death of her father in an accident when she was 9 years old and her mother's subsequent remarriage. She graduated from the City Cardiff College of Music and Drama in 1955, and after a stay in London joined the Osiris Repertory Theatre touring company, based in Gloucestershire. She joined the Arena Theatre, Sutton Coldfield, in 1958, followed by Birmingham Rep from 1968 and 1973. Her stage appearances include Margaret More in the Welsh Theatre Company's first production, A Man for All Seasons, at Cardiff's New Theatre in 1962. She was best known for her role as café owner Ivy, one of the main characters in the long-running British TV comedy Last of the Summer Wine. Freeman died in March 2017 at the age of 81 from lung cancer. Her age was often incorrectly reported as being 96 at the time of her death, but official birth records prove that she was born in 1935

Most Known For

Blackadder

as Mrs. Applebottom

Last of the Summer Wine

as Ivy

Playhouse

as Aunt Arina

Marriage

as Aunt Arina

The Val Doonican Music Show

as Self

Dark Water

as Manager's wife

Scrubbers

as Sister

Getting Sam Home

as Ivy

Love on a Gunboat

as Knitting lady

Through the Night

as Martha Paisley

All Day on the Sands

Androcles and the Lion

as Megaera

Lindsey

as Mrs. Allen

The Fishing Party

as Audrey

Ghost in the Water

as Mrs. Willetts

Scully's New Year's Eve

as Mrs Scully