Sarah Churchill

Sarah Churchill was a British actress and dancer, of American descent. She was born in London in 1914. She was the 3rd child and 2nd daughter born to politician Winston Churchill (1874-1965) and his wife Clementine Ogilvy Hozier (1885 -1977). Sarah's father would eventually serve as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (term 1940-1945, 1951-1955), and Sarah's mother became a life peer in her own right with the title of "Baroness Spencer-Churchill". Sarah was named after her distant ancestor Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (1660-1744). The elder Sarah was a prominent figure in British political history, as a close friend and royal favorite of Anne, Queen of Great Britain (1665-1714, reigned 1702-1714) and an influential member of the Whig (liberal) political faction.

The younger Sarah was born to a well-connected, but somewhat disreputable line of British nobility. Sarah's paternal grandfather was Lord Randolph Churchill (1849-1895), a prominent politician of the Conservative Party, and a member of the cabinet under Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830-1903). Randolph had ruined his own career in an act of political suicide in 1886, and had died of syphilis in 1895. Sarah's paternal grandmother was Jennie Jerome (1854-1921), a wealthy American heiress from Brooklyn, New York. Jennie was well known for extramarital affairs with several prominent men, and for serving as a mistress to the future king Edward VII (1841-1910, reign 1901-1910). Jennie died in 1921, following an accident which caused a gangrene-infection at her legs.

Sarah's maternal grandmother was Lady Blanche Ogilvy (1852-1925), daughter to an Earl of Airlie. Blanche was famous for a scandalous sexual life, and for her newsworthy divorce from military officer Henry Montague Hozier (1838-1907). While Hozier was Clementine Churchill's legal father, her paternity was always disputed. Biographers believe that Sarah's actual maternal grandfather was either famous equestrian George "Bay" Middleton (1846-1892), or professional diplomat Algernon Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale (1837 -1916).

Sarah Churchill was educated at Notting Hill High School in London. She was later send to a boarding in Kent, the North Foreland Lodge. In 1936, the 22-year-old Sarah angered her parents by marrying without their permission. Her new husband was Vic Oliver (1898-1964), a well known actor and comedian of Austrian-Jewish descent.

In the 1930s, Sarah became a professional actress, and started appearing in films. Her first known role was a bit part in the comedy film "Who's Your Lady Friend?" (1937), a farce dealing with misunderstandings concerning the real identity of a medical patient. She was eventually given more substantial roles in the musical "He Found a Star" (1941), the historical drama "Daniele Cortis" (1947), and the comedy "All Over the Town" (1949) which was dealing with office rivalries and labor disputes.

Sarah's most famous role was dancer Anne Ashmond in the film "Royal Wedding" (1951). The character was a co-protagonist, and served as a love interest to character Tom Bowen (played by Fred Astaire). Sarah had become well-known in both the United Kingdom and the United States, and received offers for further roles in theater, radio, and television. However, her career declined due to Sarah's problems with alcoholism. She was arrested several times for being drunk and disorderly, and even served time as a prisoner at HM Prison Holloway, Britain largest women's prison.

In the late 1950s, Sarah started a side-career, by producing lithographic prints for sale. In the 1970s, she was hired to work with other artists in producing portraits of her father: "A Visual Philosophy of Sir Winston Churchill".

Sarah Churchill died in September 1982, 2 weeks prior to her 68th birthday. She was buried in a family grave at St Martin's Church, Bladon, in Oxfordsire. Buried with Sarah are her parents and three of her siblings. Nearby graves contain the remains of various other members of the wider Spencer-Churchill family. This church has been affiliated with the family since 1804, when Sarah's ancestor George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough (1739 -1817) financed its construction.